The human body is able to store a “memory” of past coronavirus infections, which it had previously had – and this “memory” is able to help its immune system fight COVID-19. The corresponding study was published on the Cell Reports Medicine website.
The study was conducted by a group of American scientists from Northern Arizona University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute. Experts have studied the immune response of the human body to several coronaviruses and found that COVID-19 can cause an antibody response that appeared after the already transferred coronavirus to the current pandemic.
According to the infectious disease specialist and one of the authors of the study, John Altin, these data may mean that people may already have some degree of immunity to this virus, which existed before. Altin explained that antibodies can “bind” to elements of COVID-19.
And immunity in terms of reaction to it can get “help” from contacts with other strains of the virus. According to the authors of the study, the data obtained will help in the creation of new methods of diagnosis and treatment, and will also allow assessing the effectiveness of the plasma of convalescents.
Also, according to scientists, these studies will contribute to the development of new vaccines or other ways to protect against COVID-19 and its mutations. Experts also believe that their findings will help explain why the coronavirus causes mild or no symptoms in some people, while in others it can lead to hospitalization and death.
On January 23, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that the main version of the origin of the coronavirus, which caused the COVID-19 pandemic in the world, is still the transmission of the virus from bats, although a person could get the pathogen from them not directly, but through another view.