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Antibodies certainly persist for 4.5 months.
When the question was asked at a press conference to the Minister of Health, Aurelijus Veryga, he could not say anything specific; The question doesn’t seem to have come up so far, but he promised to discuss it with epidemiologists and find out. The next day, a laconic and specific response came from the Ministry of Health: “Regarding the isolation of people with COVID-19, the same rules and recommendations apply to them. They should also be isolated after contact with the patient. “
No arguments have been made as to why isolation is necessary and for those who already have immunity to the virus, no arguments have been made. Therefore, the director of the Center for Communicable Diseases and AIDS, prof. We asked Saulius Čaplinskas what science says about it.
“Today it is known that immunity to this virus, like other infectious diseases, develops, but gradually weakens. There are still no studies showing what it will look like after half a year, for example. But one thing is clear: antibodies remain 4.5 months This has already been proven Cellular immunity, that is, cellular memory, lasts longer.
Therefore, according to the general laws of infection, if you encounter a virus at least once, the immune memory will remain activated during the next encounter with the virus. Therefore, it is likely that a person infected a second time will not get sick, and if they do get sick, the course of their illness will be easier.
Unfortunately, there have been multiple reports of people being re-infected with COVID-19 over the years. There can be many reasons, but there is no doubt that the higher the dose of the virus that a person receives, the greater the burden on the body’s immune system and the greater the chance that the immune system will not overcome the virus and the person get sick, “explained the virologist.
Take risks or not?
So should people who are already sick be isolated again after contact with the patient or not?
“We need to be very attentive to the latest research data and react quickly to what science is learning. And maybe even sometimes not be afraid to take risks on certain things, but rightly so, because in medicine you always have to keep a balance between the possible benefits and the possible harm. Naturally, it is necessary to strive for the best that is possible according to the knowledge and resources available in the country, that is, what would be best for human health. And many factors are important for human health, not just COVID-19.
Given that people with particularly high antibody titers – that is, those who have already had COVID-19 – are likely to be less susceptible to infection when exposed again, it would be logical to allow them not to isolate themselves. Especially since we have to think about the problems that self-isolation causes, for example, for doctors. Another issue is that the use of protective measures is necessary, also for people who have become ill, ”commented S. Čaplinskas.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / Saulius Čaplinskas
Does this mean that a sick person must first undergo an antibody test after contact with the patient? “In any case, the most accurate immunity tests are much more complicated and expensive. That can be said ”, summarized the interlocutor.
The chances of getting infected are very different
According to the doctor, the researchers are also explaining why some people contract COVID-19, others do not, even though they also had contact with the patient, or some people get sick more easily, others more difficult.
One of the speculations is that cross immunity has developed from previous exposure to other coronaviruses that circulate in our environment by various species. However, some studies support this hypothesis, others do not. Thus, there are still many unknowns in the study of this coronavirus.
“Another important thing is that today the whole world should be seen as a possible carrier of the infection. We need to understand this even when we interact with the closest people we do not live with. If we live with someone, we can hardly protect ourselves, because it can bring us an infection at any time. That is why everyone should be interested in knowing your COVID-19 status, so as not to harm your loved ones as well as your colleagues, especially since the virus stops working on the computer , which in turn can cross people’s pockets.In general, the economy, the service sector, etc. will suffer.
Today, everyone should be seen as a possible carrier of the infection. We need to understand this even when interacting with the closest people we don’t live with.
That is why there are special communicable diseases – that the efforts of one person, a family, a municipality, and even a state will not be enough to stop the spread of the disease. On the other hand, it is necessary to find solutions that facilitate social and economic life as much as possible in this situation, with possible minimal losses both for the aforementioned areas and for public health ”, commented S. Čaplinskas.
Therefore, according to the doctor, it may be worth reviewing the strict rules of self-isolation, since in most cases the people who have to isolate themselves are not infected, but the virus is transmitted by those who have not been isolated and do not even know they are sick.
“There may be very little creative freedom left to decide on the risk of infection, because contact is not about contact. For example, people have lunch at a table and one of them is sick. If we equate the amount of virus received by a person sitting on the opposite side of the table from a unit, the amount of virus received by a person sitting next to a patient and talking to him will be equal to 5. Meanwhile, sitting on the other side of the table diagonally from the patient receives only 30 percent of that unit ”, explained the interlocutor.
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