Different levels of antibodies needed for protection from various coronavirus strains

Different levels of antibodies needed for protection from various coronavirus strains
August 2, 2021, 2:48 am

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The TASS reported that Yekaterina Stepanova, a Russian infectious diseases specialist and a candidate of medical sciences said levels of antibodies that are enough to protect a person against various novel coronavirus strains are different, and cannot be viewed as a reliable criterion when deciding whether a vaccination is needed or not.

According to the Tass, she said: "As preliminary research shows, various strains require various levels of antibodies. For example, against the South African strain requires a level of over 1,000 BAU/ml. The level for the delta strain is presumed to be even higher, at 1,500 BAU/ml."

In her words, any level of antibodies shows that a person had been exposed to the infection. IgM antibodies in high numbers illustrate an acute phase of COVID-19. However, serum diagnostics cannot be 100% precise, and should not be viewed as an ultimate reason to skip vaccination.

She said: "If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, I advise you to get the jab <…> regardless of whether you had fallen ill or not."

She dismissed rumors about a certain "dangerous" level of antibodies, when vaccination is not advised.

She said: "COVID patients are being treated with donor plasma, boosting the number of protective antibodies to speed up recovery. Therefore, there have been no evidence supporting this theory."

She said: "The same applies to the theory of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of the infection, according to which a virus can find its way into a cell quicker when it merges with antibodies. Again, the success of plasma therapy proves this is not possible for the time being."

Source: tass
Image source: tass

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