In the midst of a COVID-19 contagion there is “good news.” Fortunately, patients who overcome the symptoms of the virus enjoy protection for a certain period of time.. Previous studies reported that there was more than three months of immunity, however new research specified how long must pass before reinfection occurs.
According to experts from the University of London, it is highly unlikely that a previously infected person will suffer from the disease twice in a year, since protection time is 10 months. It should be noted that vaccination processes further decrease the probability.
To find the exact time, more than 2,000 people from one hundred nursing homes (members and support staff) were examined by the institute hosting the study. They underwent antibody tests (proteins in the blood) to see who had contracted COVID-19 in the first wave of infections.
The researchers documented the results of the Covid examinations between October and February, that is, of 682 residents and 1,429 staff members, he reported. The Sun. Now they were able to verify that only a small number contracted the virus.
According to the findings published in Lancet Healthy Longevity, only four residents and 10 workers out of 634 COVID-19 survivors tested positive. In short, personnel with a previous infection were 60% less likely to be infected once more than those who were never carriers of the virus.
Protection against COVID after overcoming a contagion “is a reassuring fact”
Dr Maria Krutikov, from the University of London Health Informatics Institute, called it “good news” that natural infection protects against self-reinfection within a period of 10 months. “The risk of getting infected twice seems to be very low,” he said..
He also stated that since they are residents between 80 and 90 years of age, and survivors of the first wave of the pandemic, “It is a reassuring fact that previous infection provides them with a high level of protection”.
“The findings are particularly important, as this vulnerable group has not been the focus of much research,” said Dr. Krutikov.
The immunity time offered by vaccines against COVID-19 continues to be studied
Dr Laura Shallcross, also a participant in the research at the University of London, stated that protection from reinfection was an “important step” in the face of the emergence of new variants of COVID-19.
Another study from the University of Washington School of Medicine also revealed that immune cells in the bone marrow continue to secrete low levels of antibodies, even after infection. Likewise, the team noted that the idea of ​​a short immunity was “a misinterpretation”.
However, because the Coronavirus arrived at the end of 2019, it has not yet been determined exactly how long the antibodies last in a vaccinated person or in a patient who exceeds COVID-19.
The scientists pointed out that there are layers of the immune system that are more difficult to study and that probably offer more lasting protection, such as T cells.