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WHAT WE DON’T KNOW:
How long do antibodies protect?
Findings about the antibodies the body produces against SARS-CoV-2 are important for vaccine research and provide information on whether immunity can be expected after illness. In several studies to date, researchers have found that permanent protection is unlikely because the level of antibodies drops rapidly. The secondary infections documented so far have been mild, but appear possible. A scientific article from the USA now nurtures new hope: Researchers have noticed a decrease in antibodies. The remaining antibodies became more effective in fighting the virus. Effective protection could be set up much more quickly.
What role do children play?
Children play a subordinate role in the epidemiological chain – it is the common opinion. In particular, young children are considered to be more difficult to infect, are more difficult to transmit the virus, and because of the often mild symptoms, they tend to shed fewer viruses. However, they can carry as many viruses as adults. Today, there is growing evidence that the risk posed by children may have been underestimated. An antibody study shows that six times more children in Bavaria were infected than originally reported. Experts believe that the number of infections may be skewed, as children (mainly at the beginning of the pandemic, but also today) are less frequently tested.
How important is the role of aerosols.
British virologist Julian Tang recently wrote in The Guardian that the danger of the smallest suspended particles that contain viruses could have been underestimated. It can fly more than one meter indoors. “Aerosols are distributed everywhere and relatively quickly, so we inhale them all the time,” explains aerosol researcher Martin Kriegel. The RKI now lists aerosols along with larger droplets as the main route of transmission. The time that droplets and aerosols float in the air depends on the size of the particles, the temperature, the size of the room, the air flow and the humidity.
What the optimal lock looks like.
Using models, researchers have found that a long block may be optimal for one society and a short block for another. Although the societies are similar. You cannot say that a country is acting irrationally if it has not had a blockade. Alexia Fürnkranz-Prskawetz, TU mathematician: “Small changes in the weighting of health and the economy can have huge effects. A society that focuses more on health will opt for a longer lockdown. Make it shorter.”
Where the virus originated.
Virologists decoded the SARS-CoV-2 genome in a very short time. It is not yet clear where the virus originated, as well as when it jumped from animals to humans. Bats are conceivable as original hosts and pangolins, which were sold at the Wuhan wild animal market, where the first human could be infected. Theories that the virus came from the laboratory have been disproved.
