Protection from infection
Researchers examine antibodies from recovered people – the results suggest a vaccination recommendation
Tested: Even convalescences can become infected with Corona again after a certain time.
© Julian Stratenschulte / DPA
How long are those who have recovered protected from infection with the coronavirus? Researchers at the Medical University of Graz have investigated this question – with clear results.
How long the vaccination protection lasts is only roughly determined and depends on the vaccine in question. According to a pre-print, the effectiveness of Biontech’s vaccine is already rapidly waning in the first four months. At Moderna, too, the curve is downward, albeit not quite as strongly. According to the study, the Astrazeneca vaccine had the shortest effect. In view of the limited effectiveness, the SPD recently requested a booster vaccination after six months. In other countries too, politicians have already set an expiry date for the vaccination status. In Austria, for example, all citizens have to pick up a booster seven months after the second vaccination. Otherwise, they are considered unvaccinated and may be excluded from social life.
And what about those who have recovered? Their protection against re-infection with the coronavirus also decreases after a while, like Researchers at Med Uni Graz in a study found out. For the investigation, they evaluated antibody levels from 326 study participants who had tested positive for the coronavirus using a PCR test between February 2020 and January 2021 and who had a symptomatic but mild course of the disease without hospitalization. For their investigation, the researchers took blood samples as well as mouth and nose swabs from the study participants. In addition, the test subjects had to fill out questionnaires on the course of the illness, previous illnesses, their medical history and their lifestyle.
The aim of the whole thing was to measure the antibody status. According to the results, the antibody concentration remained stable for eight months. At the same time, the researchers found that people with diseases of the respiratory tract, the cardiovascular system or the thyroid had higher antibody levels than those without previous illnesses.
Symptoms of the disease last for more than a month
The actual course of the disease with Corona also influences the antibody level. Anyone who had at least one main symptom such as fever, cough or loss of taste and smell had a higher antibody level. The authors of the study write that what exactly this value means is currently still being investigated.
It was also noticeable that the symptoms of corona disease persist for a relatively long time. Almost 70 percent of the study participants complained of symptoms on average 38 days after infection. Most of them suffered from fatigue (41 percent), an altered sense of taste (23 percent), headache (23 percent) and an altered sense of smell (around 20 percent).
The research team left out an evaluation of the study results. However, the findings suggest that those who have recovered should also be immunized against the coronavirus early on by vaccination.