Home » Health » What we know about the immunity conferred by COVID-19

What we know about the immunity conferred by COVID-19

A recent Chinese study reveals that COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or who have mild symptoms develop few antibodies. Does that call into question the notion of immunity conferred by the disease? Not necessarily, according to microbiologist-infectiologist Caroline Quach.

Although the Chinese study was conducted on few patients, it confirms what other studies have concluded, that is to say that the production of antibodies is lower in asymptomatic people than in those who have signs of the disease.

Will I be less well protected in the long term because I have fewer antibodies? It is possible, but we do not yet have this confirmation, says Caroline Quach.

She explains that cells also play a role in fighting microbes, but that this cellular activity is more difficult to measure than antibodies.

This is why the microbiologist-infectiologist does not lose hope in the discovery of an effective vaccine. Vaccine may work better than immunity in asymptomatic people, she believes.

Much more traitor that SARS

In 2003, the virus responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) ended up disappearing by itself. However, the same thing is unlikely to happen with the new coronavirus, as their characteristics are very different in terms of transmission. SARS was at its maximum contagiousness about 7 to 10 days after the onset of symptoms, explains Caroline Quach. Usually, we were sick enough not to be on the street walking any longer. We were often in intensive care.

She added that mutations in SARS made it less easily transmitted in months, which is not the case with the coronavirus. The coronavirus is a traitor, says Caroline Quach.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.