Are you immune after surviving corona infection – or not? At a Press conference in Geneva Last Friday, World Health Organization (WHO) director of emergency relief Mike Ryan dampened hopes that a persistent infection with the virus also means protection – and thus contradicts the assessment of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
“Nobody is sure if someone is protected with antibodies against the disease,” said Ryan. Currently, the incoming information indicates that only a small proportion of the population has raised antibodies to the coronavirus at all, continued Ryan. “There could have been expectations that herd immunity might already have been reached and that a majority of people might already have developed antibodies. The general facts point against it. ”
RKI with a significantly different assessment than WHO
Experts disagree as to whether and how long an infection with the new coronavirus can protect against being infected again.
So the Robert Koch Institute comes to a significantly different assessment than the WHO: Here it is assumed that recovered patients have a very low risk of reinfection. “It is unclear how regularly, robustly and permanently this immune status is built up. Experience with other coronavirus infections (SARS and MERS) suggests that immunity could last up to three years, ”says the current SARS-CoV-2 fact sheet on the RKI website.
Prof. Klaus-Dieter Zastrow, chief physician of the Hygiene Institute Berlin, also assumes immunity after infection: “Yes, you are immune after an infection. But whether it is for life or whether the immunization ends again cannot be said at the moment. “
Cases in South Korea caused a sensation
Only at the beginning of the month, 91 South Korean patients contracted the virus again after supposed healing and raised the question of whether recovered patients were really protected from the virus. British researchers, however, suspected the reason for false test results and no re-infection.
Virologist Dr. Martin Stürmer gave the all-clear during the BILD office hour for the case in South Korea: “I also share the opinion of many other colleagues that you first have to look closely to see if something went wrong with the test principle. Because it is interesting that we see the phenomenon so concentrated in South Korea, but otherwise we do not hear reports from other affected countries. ”Would it be a common phenomenon that the virus can reactivate (so that the cured get sick again after you Immune system has fought the virus), there would be far more cases, the virologist suspects.
Mutation of the virus could undermine immunity
The question of immunity, for example, sees medical doctor Dr. Wimmer: While the RKI assumes immunity of up to three years, he estimates the time span is significantly shorter. The reason: the virus could mutate. “We suspect that it’s like the flu. The viruses are constantly changing, and the corona virus does the same. If I had Corona this year, I can get it again next year. It’s different if I had it a few weeks ago – the viruses don’t change that quickly. ”
The question of whether or not you are immune after a corona infection is not the first time that the experts in the corona crisis are at odds: the experts were already arguing when whether wearing protective masks actually protects against the virus.
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