Episode #18 - COVID-19 - Immunity after recovery from COVID-19
23 December 2020 | Science conversation
Podcast
Transcript
Vismita Gupta-Smith
If you've
recovered from COVID-19, does that mean you're now immune to the disease? Should you
continue with precautions like mask wearing, physical distancing,
hand-washing and others? Answering
these questions and more is Dr.
Maria Van Kerkhove. Welcome, Maria.
Dr. Maria Van
Kerkhove
Hi, Vismita.
Thanks for having me.
Vismita Gupta-Smith
Maria, explain
to us what happens inside our body once
we recover from COVID-19, as far as immunity is concerned.
Dr. Maria Van
Kerkhove
When
individuals are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the
virus that causes COVID-19, they develop antibodies a few weeks after
infection. We know that individuals who have even severe disease, mild disease,
and even asymptomatic infection, do develop these antibodies. Studies are underway to show us how strong
this immune response is and for how long these antibodies last. What we understand from these studies — and there are many that are
currently underway, so we
still don't have a full picture yet
— is that these antibodies last for many months, some see some studies showing that they
last for six months and possibly longer. But we do have clues from other coronaviruses,
that it will not be a lifelong immunity.
Vismita Gupta-Smith
Maria, once you
recover from COVID-19, should you continue with the precautions, like mask
wearing, social distancing
and why?
Dr. Maria Van
Kerkhove
Yes, Vismita. It’s important that everybody still
adheres to the public health measures that are outlined in the areas where they
live. Part of this is really a show of solidarity with everybody else that is
going through this difficult time, but we don't know how long the immune
response lasts. So, it is important that we continue to
practice physical distancing, we
continue to make sure that we have clean hands, we use soap and water or an alcohol-based rub, we
wear a mask where appropriate and we take all of the precautions that are
outlined in the areas where we live and where we work.
Vismita Gupta-Smith
Once you recover from COVID-19, can you get reinfected? What does the science say about that?
Dr. Maria Van
Kerkhove
Well, as this is a new disease, we're learning more and more
about the SARS-CoV-2 virus
every day. What we understand
is that there are individuals that can be reinfected with this virus, as is common with other viruses.
We don't know how often this is happening, but we have a number of instances
from countries that have reported reinfection of individuals because they have
good lab systems and they're able to do full genome sequencing of the first
infection and the subsequent infection. We're
trying to learn more about each occurrence of re-infection and what the
antibody response was in that individual at the time of the first infection and
also the second infection. There's
still so much, we need to understand about occurrences of re-infection, how
often it is happening and what it means for the individual patient. Is the second infection more severe
or less severe? And what does
it mean in terms of the antibody response? So, there's still a lot to learn, Vismita.
Vismita Gupta-Smith
Maria, what does it mean going forward for people who are
currently infected and those who have recovered?
Dr. Maria Van
Kerkhove
So Vismita, it
means that we still have a lot to learn about this virus. And there are many,
many scientists all over the world that are really working hard to better
understand this virus and how it infects
the human body. For all of
those individuals out there who are infected, who are recovering, we wish you well, and we wish you a speedy
recovery. For everyone out there, we need to do everything that we can to
prevent ourselves from getting infected. And there are many steps, many tools, that we have right now that can
prevent us from getting infected and also prevent us if we are infected from
spreading it to others. We are in
this together and we will get through this together.
Vismita Gupta-Smith
Thank you, Maria. That
was Science in 5 today. Remember to share this information
with your loved ones and be the source of trusted, scientific information. And
as more science and evidence
comes through, we will update you through
all our channels. Until next
time then. Stay safe, stay healthy and stick
with science.
Speaker key
Vismita Vismita Gupta-Smith
Maria Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove