Just when scientists thought they were getting somewhere with the Coronavirus; it delivers a huge damper. The past months have seen raging debates over the pandemic where innumerous studies are emerging with new but worrying findings about COVID-19. While most information are important aspects of the disease helping scientists learn more about it, others are downright chilling with revelations that all is not as we thought or assumed about the virus. There is now a new discovery about it that can retard and impact research negatively especially where the effectiveness of vaccines is concerned and immunity is concerned.
The assumption that antibodies will keep you safe from contracting the virus again is wrong
Over the last few months scientists and practically everyone else in the world assumed that the virus would soon meet a natural end but that doesn’t seem the case anymore. It looks like Covid-19 is here to stay. Researchers and doctors alike felt that antibodies developed in recovered patients would eventually lead to a fizzling out of the pandemic but now it appears that assumption is so very wrong. Once the studies on antibodies were out, everyone sighed in relief, finally the population would develop antibodies and no more Covid-19. But, now the biggest bummer of the season is here.
Antibodies are the proteins that the body makes to fight and prevent infection. A number of studies have found out that antibodies developed in those recovered from Covid-19 and the immunity thereof would just last a few months. This is a startling discovery that does not bode well for the present situation. It makes the R&D on vaccines even more difficult as stated in an article on the website zerohedge
Studies around the world are discovering a common development
One study in China found a drastic reduction of antibodies was experienced by 90% of Covid -19 patients in just around 2-3 months. More recent studies in China also found how asymptomatic and symptomatic patients in the recovery stages also displayed the same reduction of antibodies. This raises the important question, WILL THERE EVER BE ANY LASTING IMMUNITY TO THE VIRUS IN FUTURE?
The study that involved 37 symptomatic and 37 asymptomatic patients found that almost 90% of both groups experienced sharp decreases in the level of SARS-COV-2–specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies within 2 to 3 months of being infected with Covid-19. According to the report published in Nature Medicine, 40% of the asymptomatic group showed negative for IgG antibodies, 8 weeks after being discharged from isolation in hospital.
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A preliminary study in the UK has detected how antibodies diminish in few months
According to a report in CNN, a study paper that was published on the medical server Medrxiv, but not yet published in a reviewed medical journal found that antibodies may decline within a month of Covid-19 symptoms. “We show that IgM and IgA binding responses decline after 20-30 days,” said the researchers from the United Kingdom who also discovered that the magnitude of the antibody response depended on the severity of the viral infection. The study took samples from 65 Covid-19 patients, 94 days after they displayed symptoms. 31 healthcare workers were also given the same test. The CDC (US centre for disease control and prevention) says that it usually takes up to three weeks after being infected that the body starts to develop antibodies.
Speaking to the Guardian, Katie Doores Lead author of the preliminary study at King’s College, London said “people are producing a reasonable antibody response to the virus, but it’s waning over a short period of time and depending on how high your peak is, that determines how long the antibodies are staying around.”
The World Health Organization has also warned in the earlier stages of the pandemic that those who had recovered from Covid-19 weren’t necessarily immune to the disease and could catch it again. The study mentioned is limited in its findings and more research is needed to conclude is the same results would emerge if it involved a larger group of people over longer periods of time.
Studies in Spain also suggested that coronavirus anti-bodies lasted only three to five weeks in some patients. All of this is now building an unfortunate picture of perceived immunity against Covid-19. If all these findings are confirmed after further research, then the human race may well have to live with Covid-19 and we can more or less forget about the so called “herd immunity” experts keep talking about.
Are we going to share a future with Covid-19?
The present scenario may well foretell a future where Covid-19 will be with us permanently and there are possibilities that people will get infected repeatedly. There is also evidence of such cases where D. Clay Ackerley, a doctor in Washington DC shared his findings in an article for Vox. He described how one of his patients earlier infected with Covid19 contracted the virus again after three months.
In the same article, Doctor Ackerly also provided evidence how other doctors were facing similar experiences. There were two patients in New Jersey who contracted Covid-19 a second time two months after making a full recovery from the first time they were infected with the virus.
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What does this mean for vaccines and those with health issues?
If antibodies are fading in patients within three months, wouldn’t that render vaccines useless? According to Doctor Stephen Griffins associate professor in the University of Leeds School of Medicine in the United Kingdom, who wrote in a statement distributed by the UK-based Science Media Center last week “Vaccines in development will either need to generate stronger and longer lasting protection compared to natural infection, or they may need to be given regularly.”
Referring to the Medrxiv study, Doctor Griffins said “the importance of this study is clear and the research has been rigorously undertaken, this work confirms that protective antibody responses in those infected with SARS-COV2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, appear to wane rapidly. Whilst longer lasting in those with more severe disease, this is still only a matter of months.”
However, in his statement the doctor also outlined one worrying fact saying “Similar short-lived responses are seen against other human coronaviruses that predominantly cause only mild illness, meaning that we can be re-infected as time goes by and outbreaks can adopt seasonality. With the more serious, sometimes fatal, outcomes of SARS-COV2, this is troubling indeed.”
However, Dr Mala Maini professor of viral immunology and consultant physician at the University College London in the United Kingdom shares a more positive outlook. As reported by CNN, She says “Even if you’re left with no detectable circulating antibodies, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have no protective immunity because you likely have memory immune cells (B and T cells) that can rapidly kick into action to start up a new immune response if you re-encounter the virus. So, you might well get a milder infection,”
She also explained that B cells help control our immune response by producing antibodies to combat infectious microbes like a virus where T cells attack the infection directly. If a person has been infected earlier, those cells will remember the infection and stimulate an immune response resulting to a less severe infection.
But Doctor Maini also said that the study reaffirms the message that it should not be assumed that those who catch Covid-19 will not get it again just because they may be antibody positive.
“It also means a negative antibody test now can’t exclude you having had COVID-19 a few months ago. And it suggests vaccines will need to be better at inducing high levels of longer lasting antibodies than the natural infection or that doses may need to be repeated to maintain immunity.”
Studies also find asymptomatic develop lower levels of immunity towards the virus
A small study published in the journal Nature Medicine, found something that had even more cause for concern. It found asymptomatic patients had lower levels of antibodies compared to those with mild symptoms. This suggests that asymptomatic patients had weaker immune responses to the virus.
In fact, a study sanctioned by the Spanish government and published in the Lancet found only 5% of the Spanish population have Covid-19 antibodies because immunity to the coronavirus decreased after a few weeks. The study also found that 95% of Spain is now susceptible to the virus, including those who contracted it earlier. The study included 61000 people and according the Spanish CDC was the largest in Europe.
Covid-19 should not be taken lightly
These studies including the opinions of the experts involved confirm one thing, that the coronavirus Covid-19 shouldn’t be taken lightly. The present research leans towards the fact that Covid-19 isn’t going away and each time we contract it again, it may be less severe or even more physiologically. People may want to stick their heads in the sand in a form of denial or a false perception that they are healthy and safe but the reality is far from that.
As the family of one army veteran found out the harsh way. Richard Rose 37 from Ohio wrote in a Facebook post on 28th April “Let’s make this clear. I’m not buying a mask. I’ve made it this far by not buying into that damn hype.” That post was shared 10,000 times. Richard Rose contracted Covid-19 and died of complication on the 4th of July.
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The Bottom line: prevention matters more than a cure
Don’t let conspiracy theories, false information and pseudo rights get the better of you. COVID-19 KNOWS NO POLITICS, NO WORLD BARRIERS AND DOES NOT SUPPORT ANY DEBATE. IT DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN THOSE WHO FEEL THEY SHOULD WEAR A MASK OR SHOULD NOT. Debates and opinions are pointless in the glaring fact that the reality is an infection of Covid staring at us in the face. You may or may not get it but, we owe it to our selves and our families to keep protected.
This is why good health and prevention is always better than cure. Every country has a health guidance system with vital information how to stay safe from the pandemic such as the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Wear a suitable mask when venturing outside and if necessary, gloves too. Resort to online and digital payments as much as possible and practice social distancing wherever applicable. Rather than herd immunity, it is herd awareness, self-discipline and compliance with rules and regulations that will keep you and your family safe.
Sources:
Medrxiv, CNN Business Insider The Hill Zerohedge Lancet