Expert Says Antibody Levels May Decrease 2-3 Months after Contracting Coronavirus

Expert observations have indicated that many people two-three months after contracting the novel coronavirus infection have lower levels of protective antibodies while in some individual cases they have not been developed at all, head of the clinical research department of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Tatyana Ruzhentsova said on Wednesday, as reported by TASS.

“In many recovered patients we see a decrease in the level of protective antibodies during 2-3 months of observation. We realize that if the antibodies decrease, then the protection against the infection also decreases. It is necessary to say that some recovered patients, this is peculiar, don’t have any antibodies from the very beginning of observation after illness. And we understand that these people, of course, will be sensitive, susceptible to infection,” she said live on the sanitary watchdog’s Instagram account.

In relation to that she noted the importance of wearing a protective mask even for those who have already had the novel coronavirus infection. Additionally, the experts today research other variants when a person may contract the coronavirus repeatedly, although there are no valid and conclusive data on this yet.

“While we are conducting research, people should protect themselves as much as possible, both those who had and did not have the infection,” the researcher concluded.

To date, 1,122,241 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 923,699 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 19,799 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.