Patients with mild cases of Covid-19 acquire immunity only for several months - scientist
MOSCOW. July 29 (Interfax) - Patients who suffer mild cases of Covid-19 acquire immunity that lasts only for several months and could again contract the novel coronavirus during a second wave of the pandemic, director of a laboratory at the Vector Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Ilnaz Imatdinov told the Rossiya-24 television channel on Wednesday.
Imatdinov disagrees with the opinion that the world's population will gain herd immunity against Covid-19 in the fall and that vaccination will be pointless.
"If that were really so, it'd be good. But, unfortunately, epidemiological studies currently point to the opposite. When people have a mild case [of Covid-19], an antibody titer remains in their blood for only a few months, after which it disappears," he said.
"Therefore, it's not quite clear how a second wave would affect these people, in other words, whether they will again contract the virus or not. This question remains open," Imatdinov said.
According to data from the coronavirus response headquarters, the proportion of mild or asymptomatic cases of Covid-19 among Russians currently exceeds 25%.