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Home » Coronavirus » Immunity to COVID-19. How long it lasts? Do patients with mild coronavirus disease become immune? (4)
Immunity to COVID-19. How long it lasts? Do patients with mild coronavirus disease become immune? (4)
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We know about the immunity for those patients who recover from Coronavirus and antibody-based diagnostics and treatment methods. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. You know that they are called serology for our viewers the study of serum. This is part of blood that does not contain the blood cells. Why are antibody-based diagnostic tests and therapeutic methods are so important. How could you use them? So, they are because they tell us who had the infection. One of the very frequently asked questions is, for instance, in hospitals of the healthcare workers, can we maybe come up with tests to help them understand who already had it, who may be immune? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. So, who has a lower risk of infection? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Now. The question of if patients are immune after an infection is very complicated. We know that patients develop antibodies, develop cellular immunity. We expect them to be protected from new infections in the coming probably a year. We know from other respiratory infections that that immunity. Usually, it is not for life. It is not complete so that patients may be infected again after a while. But we don’t expect that very soon. Now. The question that is still investigated is, does this? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Can we say this for everyone who gets the infection? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Particularly the patients that have very mild illness or no illness? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. What does their immunity look like? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. That is something that many groups are now studying. We need to understand that question before we can say yes, you have had it. Our antibody test tells you that so you are immune. That is very important because the majority of patients will probably have a very, very mild infection. The question is if you have a very mild infection, is your immunity as strong as somebody who was sick and presumably whose immune system kicked in. For better and for worse, perhaps. Correct! Yes. So that is an important question. That is why there is now a big call for tests. People want to have home tests. But this is why we still want to be a little bit careful. Take it step by step. We need first to understand what these tests exactly measure. Medical second opinion is important. What do they tell you if you get tested, we don’t want to create a false sense of security by just handing out to drugstore testing.
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