Coronavirus is one of the leading issues in the world these days. Most of us wonder whether the people who came out positive with coronavirus get far better immunity after recovering from the condition or do they still suffer from low protection and have high chances to suffer from the same situation again. It is an utmost concern these days due to the rapid spread of the disease from China to Europe, Asia, and now America. According to Matt Frieman, the researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, “we don’t know very much.” He further added that in this scenario, if the virus comes back this year, every individual affected by it will have some level of immunity, or if it comes back later after few years, it will offer some protection and lead to lesser chances of the disease. He says that it’s just hope, but still, they are in the way of researching and discovering more about the condition.
The only thing researchers have known until now is the fact that there are four different forms of seasonal coronaviruses leading to 10-30% common colds. Such seasonal coronaviruses make people sick repeatedly even though if the patient is exposed to them in their childhood. Ann Falsey, who works at the University of Rochester Medical Centre, says that almost everyone who is working around if they get their blood tests done now, they will show some forms of antibodies to certain coronavirus which are known until now. She further adds that once we are exposed to these viruses, the antibodies start producing within our bodies. Still, slowly and gradually, they usually decline to make the people susceptible to disease and its symptoms again. Ann Falsey also said that most of the respiratory viruses offer you a certain period of protection, i.e., around one to two years when the seasonal coronaviruses infect us.
Different studies have been conducted on seasonal coronavirus, and it is seen that people who were already inoculated with certain types of seasonal coronavirus showed pre-existing antibodies. However, still, if they get infected, they show some symptoms. These viruses do not mutate immediately when compared to the influenza virus for which new vaccines are produced after every year. According to the virologist Vineet Menachery at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, he says that we have been working with some common strains of cold viruses from the past 30 years. Still, it is seen that these viruses did not have any differences when compared to the ones circulating now. However, Frieman suggests that seasonal coronavirus does mutate a little bit over some time to attack the body’s immune system. But not much is known about the changes that these viruses pose. It is because of the reason that annual surveillance is not performed on coronaviruses like it is shown on the influenza viruses.
It is also seen that the immune system is not that robust against coronavirus when compared to the influenza virus. The COVID-19 infection does not allow the body to develop immunity for the long-term. Frieman says that the antibodies present in the body are not protective in nature due to which they don’t work well against the infection. The other coronaviruses known in the human body include MERS and SARS, which are known for causing severe diseases in humans, and none is known about the reinfection caused by these viruses. The dangerous coronavirus SARS emerged during 2002 in China, which led to a more robust immune response development. According to Stanley Perlman, who works at the University of Iowa, he says that we have taken samples of antibodies from the patients of SARS from 2003-2004. He says that antibodies in such patients last for a longer duration than it was thought previously. It is unpredictable to say that the survivors of the SARS virus if exposed to the antibodies again, what would their reaction be. Perlman further states that there were a total of around 8000 cases when the epidemic was brought on, but it came to an end after 6-8 months, and then there was no such case of reinfection.
Another severe form of coronavirus MERS was seen in the Middle East during 2012. Perlman said that there was no such case of reinfection, but the total cases were around 2500 for eight years. He further adds the chances of people getting reinjected with the virus are not great, as 35% of people died due to the same infection. However, it was seen that MERS patients generated a robust immune response against the virus, which could be detected for two years, and the patients who were severely ill they had a long-lasting and healthy immune system. The latest emergence of coronavirus2-SARS, which led to the pandemic, shows that there hasn’t been enough research regarding this strain and its reinfection.
Before this virus spread from one country to another, it was assumed that it is as simple as a simple cold, and we will develop immunity. However, this is not true, and it’s a huge deal. For instance, if you came out positive with COVID-19 and it affected only your upper airway, it shows that there is a high risk that you might get reinfected with the virus. According to Perlman, it’s hard to predict for now, but if there is vaccine development for this virus, then much could be speculated regarding the virus. Perlman is worried about the fact that if naturally, the virus is not giving much immunity to the patients, then what will happen if the vaccine is generated. He further adds that if we develop the vaccine, we are not sure whether it will offer protection for six months or 2-3 years.