Danish researcher working on Covid-19 vaccine (illustration) – Thibault Savary / AFP) – AFP
A fear in awe. While according to figures (arrested Monday, March 30, 2020) from the Ministry of Solidarity and Health, in France, 44,500 people contracted the coronavirus, 3,024 died from it and 7,924 were able to return home, cured, many readers of 20 minutes wonder if it’s possible to catch the Covid-19 a second time. Others are concerned with whether a drug or
vaccines are already in place to avoid being contaminated:
“Once a person has been sick and cured of the coronavirus, is he immune? Or can she catch it a second time? Do the tests allow us to detect that we have been sick, and therefore cured? »Marie
“If you are cured of Covid-19, can you be infected again?” »SaSI
“Are we immune when we have already contracted the virus like a vaccine (we have antibodies)?” »Begu
“Does vaccination against pneumococcus protect against coronavirus? »Sylvie
“I used Nivaquine [un antipaludique] for more than two years (like many people who have stayed abroad), do you think I could be a little immune? »River
Here are the answers 20 minutes found:
A glimmer of hope. Italian infectious disease researchers say “Covid-19 would mutate very little, with only five new variants,” reports Point, who sees two positive consequences: this weak mutation would not affect the stability of the vaccine over time, and it could protect against further contamination, the organism having antibodies capable of acting as a barrier to the virus.
Encouraging tests on animals. “This is a hypothesis, confirms with 20 minutes Jean Dubuisson, CNRS researcher at the Lille Center for Infection and Immunity, specializing in the life cycle of human coronaviruses and the host-pathogen relationship. Tests were carried out on animals which had already been infected and to which the virus was reinjected. As a result, they did not develop the symptoms. “However, we should not claim victory, insists Jean Dubuisson. First of all because “we do not have enough perspective to know the duration of this immunoprotection”. Then because it will be necessary “to carry out serological tests [des prélèvements sanguins] on humans to check for the presence or absence of antibodies to the coronavirus. “
Admittedly, “tests are being developed”, continues the researcher. But the game will not be won immediately: “The big challenge will be to develop them on a large scale, that is to say to be able to produce them in industrial quantities, then to carry them out on a large part of the population. “
No drug currently exists. Meanwhile, faced with the “killer monster” that is Covid-19, “no drug in the world has proven its effectiveness” recalled on Monday
Pr Jérôme Salomon, Director General of Health. What confirms
WHO: “Certain Western remedies, traditional or domestic can bring comfort and relieve the symptoms of the coronavirus, but nothing proves that the current drugs make it possible to prevent or cure the disease. “
Vaccines against pneumonia, such as pneumococcal vaccine and anti-Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), do not provide protection against the new coronavirus, the UN agency said. Furthermore, Covid-19 is a virus, therefore antibiotics (which are prescribed to fight bacteria) should not be used as a means of prevention or treatment – however, if you are hospitalized for infection with the Covid-19, you may be given antibiotics because bacterial coinfection is possible. More generally, both Professor Salomon and the WHO recommend not taking self-medication, which can do worse than better.
The U.S. just signed a $ 450 million coronavirus vaccine contract with Johnson & Johnson https://t.co/B8H9LWlnav pic.twitter.com/bkb3bnPYha
– Forbes (@Forbes) March 30, 2020
Any vaccine coming next year? Researchers around the world are working on a vaccine against Covid-19. Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson announced on Monday that it has selected a vaccine candidate to be tested on humans by September and may be ready for emergency use by early next year. In France, “clinical trials with BCG [le vaccin contre la tuberculose] to see if it can fight the most severe forms of Covid-19 are underway, “said Jean Dubuisson. If this hypothesis holds true, “it could explain why the youngest, who have been vaccinated more recently, are statistically less affected by Covid-19 and its most dangerous forms”, relays the Huffington post.
In any case, reminds the Ministry of the Interior on its site, “the compulsory nature or not of a possible vaccine will be decided according to the results of clinical studies as well as epidemiological data”.
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