Director of the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology named after Pasteur, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Areg Totolyan said that the process of reducing the level of antibodies to coronavirus is not a sign of weakening of the immune system. His words on Sunday, October 18, reports TASS.
“A decrease in the level of antibodies does not mean the disappearance of immunity, since” memory cells “and cells that produce antibodies are formed, which must provide immune protection when they meet the virus again,” the expert explained.
The RAS academician noted that, thanks to these cells, patients who have had COVID-19 do not become infected again. Totolyan also said that antibodies are also produced during the asymptomatic course of the infection, only they are less persistent than with obvious symptoms.
“In this regard, an extremely important question is the study of cellular immunity in these individuals and the search for an answer to the question – do they develop cellular immunity or not?” – said Totolyan. He added that absolutely everyone should follow the measures for “non-specific prevention” of coronavirus, including wearing protective masks, adhering to social distance and washing their hands thoroughly.
Earlier, the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences said that a fifth of Russians who have had coronavirus lose antibodies to it within a few months. “The immune system reacted with a small level of antibodies, and after a month or two there was no trace of these antibodies,” Totolyan explained. According to him, the proportion of such patients is “about 15-20 percent.”
