Can you have a second coronavirus infection? Why are some people getting sicker than others as a result of this infection? Will this virus come back every winter? Will the vaccine work? Will it be possible to return to work if immunity is developed? How do we deal with this virus in the long run?
One of the most important questions about coronavirus is the development of immunity to the disease.
But the problem is that we know very little about it.
How will your immunity against coronavirus be built?
Our body's immune system is the ability of the body to fight off any external infection and that is in two parts.
The first system is always made in our body. When the body realizes that a germ has entered the body from the outside, that system becomes active to fight. This is called the body's normal immune response.
The body then makes some chemicals and white blood cells that cause inflammation. Those white blood cells kill the infected cells.
But in the case of coronavirus this process does not work. The body cannot catch the attack of this germ. As a result, you may not be able to resist coronavirus on its own.
For this you need a resistance that your body has developed separately.
In this system, the body cells have to make antibodies specific to the virus. Antibodies or chemicals that can stick to the virus to fight off the virus and white blood cells called 'T cells' can only kill the infected cells.
This is called the cellular response or the process of dealing with specific cells. But it takes time.
Studies have shown that it takes about ten days for the body to produce the antibodies needed to fight coronavirus-infected cells. And the strongest immunity of the worst affected person is created.
If the immune system developed in this way is strong enough, the body can remember the same type of virus infection and deal with it as a known enemy in the future.
But if someone has a slight symptom, or no symptoms at all, then the body's immune system does not remember the virus, because it did not have to develop a specific level of resistance to deal with the virus before.
How long is the resistance?
The body's immune system has the same memory as ours. He clearly remembers some infections, but he has a habit of forgetting some infections unknowingly.
He remembers his oath well about measles. So once you have measles, it will protect you from this disease for the rest of your life.
But there are many diseases that the body does not remember. For example, lung and respiratory infections in children called RSAV can recur during the winter each year.
The new coronavirus, called Sars-CoV-2, is a very new bacterium. The virus is so new that scientists still do not know how long it will last. However, six more types of coronavirus have already infected humans, according to some sources.
Of these, four types of coronavirus cause symptoms similar to the common cold and have a very short period of immunity. Studies have shown that some patients have been infected with the same virus within a year.
However, the common cold does not usually suffer much. There are also two types of coronaviruses that suffer from it.
One is the virus of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and the other is the bacterium of Mars (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). Scientists have found antibodies to these two viruses that are capable of preventing the spread of the disease a few years later.
"The real question is not whether you have immunity, but how long this immunity will work," says Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in Britain. He adds: "It simply came to our notice then.
"Studies on SARS antibodies have shown that resistance to this type of virus lasts approximately one to two years, although it is not yet known for sure."
However, even if you do not have 100% immunity, there is a possibility that the second infection will not be at a very serious stage.
Has the human being been attacked for the second time?
Coronavirus infection has been reported to occur more than once in a very short period of time.
Some say people have really been attacked a second time.
Many researchers believe that the virus often enters the body without attacking, kills the ambush, then suddenly announces its presence one day.
Whatever the truth, one thing all scientists agree on is that the real thing is to test a patient without confusing him by saying that he is free of the virus.
No human has been infected twice to test whether the human body has developed immunity to the virus. But the experiment was performed on a special pair of monkeys.
These monkeys have been infected twice to run the test. Once done so that they can build resistance and the second time after three weeks. This very limited range of tests showed that they did not show any symptoms for the second time in a very short time.
If I have antibodies, am I immune?
It cannot be said with guarantee. And that's why the World Health Organization is concerned about countries that are considering using 'immunity passports'.
They want to release those who can get antibodies out of lockdown with a certificate of safety. They say health workers or those who care for the elderly and the sick will be able to return to work as a result. They have the highest risk of contracting the virus.
The problem is that those who have been infected, the test will find some amount of antibodies in the body of almost everyone. But that may not be the case for everyone.
Only a special type of antibody can attach to the coronavirus and protect good cells from infection.
Tests on 175 patients who have recovered in China have shown that levels of this particular antibody are very low in 30 percent of them.
That's why the World Health Organization says "the body's ability to make this particular type of antibody is important for recovery."
Another thing is, the right antibodies may make you immune to the virus, but that doesn't mean that the germs will disappear from your body. As a result, if these germs stay in your body, you can infect others.
Why talk so much about immunity?
Because, it is important for your health. It is important to know if you have been infected with Covid Nineteen more than once, and how often.
To understand how deadly this virus can be, you also need to know about immunity. If the human body develops immunity, more or less, then this germ will not be so dangerous.
If long-term prevention is not possible, vaccine discovery will also be difficult.
Even if a vaccine can be made, how it will be used can be determined by learning more about the immune system. For example, should the vaccine be given once in a lifetime, or should it be taken year after year like a flu injection?
Also, from the persistence of immunity that will be developed through infection or vaccine, scientists can understand how far it is possible to stop the spread of this virus.
Scientists are now searching for answers to such important questions.
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