Covid-19 immunity could only last for two months

So far, experts have assumed that you are immune to the virus for a long time after a corona infection.

However, two studies from Germany and China now show that sufferers had no or very few antibodies in their blood after just two months.

That would mean that those who have been through Covid-19 must continue to protect themselves.

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Anyone who has ever had Covid-19 is protected against a new infection – right? This applies to many infectious diseases – and so experts at Covid-19 originally assumed that a survived infection would bring immunity. In the meantime, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn had considered introducing immunity cards that would have granted certain rights to those with antibodies against the corona virus. This plan has since been rejected.

This is probably due to the fact that the assumption of immunity may not apply to Covid-19. Two new studies that have just been published raise doubts that the antibodies against the virus will remain in the human organism for a long time.

So found one Chinese research team around Quan-Xin Long out: In their 37 examined patients, the antibodies in the blood rapidly decreased again after asymptomatic infection with the new corona virus – i.e. an infection without noticeable symptoms. After two months, immunity may no longer exist, the researchers write in the journal “Nature Medicine”. After all, the number of antibodies in her study dropped by about two thirds after just two months.

Read also: “Too many Swedes died too soon” – chief epidemiologist admits mistakes in Sweden’s special way in the Corona crisis

There is no herd immunity without immunity

This suspicion is also confirmed in Germany, in the Schwabing hospital in Bavaria. “In the aftercare of our patients, we saw that in some cases, ie 40 percent, there was a loss of neutralizing antibodies in the course. Here too, the doctors were unable to detect antibodies two months after the illness.

This indicates that there could be no long-term immunity in these patients and that they could possibly become infected with Sars-CoV-2 again, ”Clemens Wendtner, chief physician at Schwabing Hospital, told the patient Bavarian radio.

If we’re really not immune after Covid-19 has gone through, it could be a problem. Because there are currently only two ways to protect the population sustainably against the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus: safe vaccination or natural herd immunity. Sweden, for example, uses the latter strategy, but so far it has cost the population a lot.

For natural herd immunity, a larger proportion, experts speak of around 60 percent, of the population must have survived the infection initially – and have developed natural immune protection. However, if there is no lasting protection against re-infection after a Covid-19 infection, then no herd immunity can occur.

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Antibodies are just one of the indicators of immunity

“As long as we have to assume that immunity is only available for a certain period of time, we basically don’t have to worry about herd immunity,” explains Prof. Dr. André Karch, Deputy Director Epidemiology and Social Medicine and Head of Clinical Epidemiology at the University Hospital in Münster.

This means: If someone had Covid-19, it may well be that the person stays healthy for a month or two, because during this time the antibodies offer protection against infection – but they do come back after a few months infects.

However, like many things when researching Covid-19, this is still not certain, despite the new study results. More studies are needed for precise classification. “For an immune memory response, formerly sick people would have to be tested for antibodies at regular intervals and in the long term,” says for example Prof. Dr. Leif-Erik Sander, Head of the Research Group Infection Immunology and Vaccine Research at the Charité Berlin.

And Christian Drosten from Charité Berlin did not want to rashly rule out immunity in his podcast, despite the findings. Antibodies are just one of the possible indicators of immunity, he said. Because other processes are also involved in immunity.

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