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New Delhi: The lifespan of COVID-19 antibodies from infection as well as vaccinations will be known in the next months, according to health experts, who added that it will depend on class and type.
There are several kinds of antibodies, each with a distinct lifetime. Several individuals who were infected with COVID-19 last year have been found to have the virus again. Antibodies, such as IgM and IgG, are broad categories with subcategories.
What exactly are antibodies, and how many groups are there?
An antibody is a protein generated by the body's immune system in response to the identification of dangerous chemicals known as antigens. Each antibody is unique, and it protects the body against a specific sort of antigen. There are several main categories of antibodies, such as IgM and IgG, and then there are subgroups within them. It functions by recognizing and adhering to particular proteins present on the surfaces of viruses and bacteria.
Dr. Arvind Kumar, Chairperson of the Institute of Chest Surgery, Chest Onco-Surgery, and Lung Transplantation at Medanta Hospital, told ANI, "Antibodies come in a variety of forms, each with its own lifespan. It is the class and kind of antibodies produced by coronavirus or vaccination that belong to a class that does not persist longer than its specified period." "We'll know in a few months whether they persist more than six months or a year," he added.
An antibody is a protein generated by the body's immune system in response to the detection of dangerous chemicals known as antigens. Each kind of antibody is distinct and protects the body against a single type of antigen.
It functions by recognizing and adhering to particular proteins, such as those present on the surfaces of viruses and bacteria. Health experts do not rule out the possibility of a booster dosage after two treatments.
"There has been conjecture that a booster dosage may be necessary to make the antibodies persist longer, but this is speculative, and the definitive answer may be known in the next several months," Dr. Kumar added.
What has been noticed in COVID-19 is that many patients who had COVID last year and became antibody positive this year also tested positive for COVID-19. When they were screened for antibodies, they were determined to be negative.
"It basically implies that whatever antibody they had last year has disappeared by this year since its lifetime is not more than a year," the doctor explained.
Vaccinations against COVID-19 began in India in mid-January. In India, the maximum lifetime appears to be around five and a half months. It is six and a half months in the United States, where immunization began in mid-December and six and a half months in other nations.
"People who acquired COVID last year are being reinfected because antibodies are worn out or because some of the new mutations were not resistant," the doctor explained, emphasizing the significance of serosurveys.
