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How long does immunity last for those who have already had COVID-19?

'17.01.2021'

Source: Newspaper.ru

Experts differ in their assessments of how much immunity is maintained in those who have had COVID-19 - from three months to several years. However, if a person has already had a coronavirus and has antibodies, then he can still be admitted to vaccination, writes "Gazeta.ru".

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Carrying out this procedure will only strengthen his immunity, Rospotrebnadzor assured.

Those who have had the coronavirus COVID-19 retain immunity for three to five months, said Vasily Akimkin, director of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor.

“Immunity lasts from three to five months, then it gradually starts to go away. Even after the third month we see a decrease in the level of immunity, ”TASS quotes the words of a specialist.

At the same time, it is worth noting that re-infection with coronavirus is possible even with a high content of antibodies in the blood, according to immunologist, Ph.D. Nikolai Kryuchkov.

According to him, a high titer of antibodies does not guarantee one hundred percent protection against COVID-19.

“If the body is weakened, for example, due to severe chronic diseases, there may be a gap in its defense against the virus, despite the presence of antibodies and cellular immunity,” the physician explained to the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.

His words are confirmed by the infectious disease specialist Lilia Baranova.

“Anyone can get coronavirus infection again. It's just that with a high titer of antibodies, the course of the disease will be much easier. But at low concentration, there may be a worse condition, ”she said.

On the subject: Some people had antibodies to COVID-19 before the pandemic: how doctors explain it

Kryuchkov notes that there are different types of antibodies. Those that protect against new infections represent only a small fraction of the total antibody level. And modern testing methods determine exactly the overall indicator.

Also, at the moment, scientists still do not know the exact level of antibodies required to block re-infection, said immunologist Maria Polner.

She added that antibodies after the first infection with COVID-19 disappear after about eight months, after which re-infection is possible again. However, the coronavirus is constantly mutating.

"Immunity is developed to one strain, and the changed virus begins to act in a different way, to affect other points, and now the person is infected again," said infectious disease specialist Anna Balandina.

Anch Baranova, professor at the School of Systems Biology at George Mason University, believes that the group that is least protected against the new strain of coronavirus is those who had been ill in the first wave of the pandemic.

“Yes, they may not be completely protected from re-infection - as you are lucky. Depending on the type of antibodies that have accumulated in their blood, ”the expert explained.

It is worth recalling: if a person has already had a coronavirus and has antibodies, then he can still be admitted to vaccination. Carrying out this procedure will only strengthen his immunity, Rospotrebnadzor assured.

At the same time, experts believe that the duration of the preservation of immunity can differ significantly in different people, since it depends on various factors. At the same time, there is a high probability that after six months the immunity will be significantly reduced.

However, no one guarantees lifelong immunity to the new type of coronavirus. In 15-20% of those who have recovered from the disease, antibodies disappear in a month or two, said Areg Totolyan, director of the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology named after Pasteur.

According to the most daring estimates, immunity to SARS-CoV-2 can persist for eight months or longer, up to several years, follows from a study by the La Jolla Immunology Institute in the United States, the results of which are published in bioRxiv.

On the subject: What can and what can not tell a study on antibodies to COVID-19

Immunity in patients who have had coronavirus lasts for six months, the vaccine should provide protection for such or a longer period, said Anna Popova, head of Rospotrebnadzor.

“Today's observations show that six months of immunity is absolutely certain after the disease, therefore, the vaccine should not give a shorter period,” she said.

The head of the department also added that in order to interrupt the epidemiological process at the level of the whole country, it is necessary to vaccinate about 60% of the population.

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