Today, the Ministry of Health offers a series of very important explanations regarding the antibodies for the COVID-19 virus generated by infected or vaccinated people, and below you can see all the details you should know about right now.
The Ministry of Health explains exactly what an antibody means, how important they are for COVID-19, and how long those produced by the infection would last in the body, although these latter data are not so clear at the moment.
"What do we know about anti-COVID-19 antibodies?
Antibodies are proteins produced by cells of the immune system - B lymphocytes (or B cells). They circulate through the blood, but are also found in the mucous membranes, they recognize substances foreign to the body - called antigens (components of viruses or bacteria) and neutralize them. Antibodies are specialized structures, so each antibody will bind specifically to a certain antigen.
After the human body comes into contact with an antigen, the immune system will recognize it and synthesize antibodies against it. Thus, when the body comes into contact with the same foreign structure, the antibodies already synthesized will recognize it and eliminate it, thus preventing infection or severe forms of disease.
Contact between the human body and an antigen can occur through direct infection with a virus or bacteria, in which case the body will undergo the disease and then synthesize the antibodies necessary to fight it in the future.
At the same time, the human body can synthesize the necessary antibodies through controlled exposure to certain components of a pathogen or to an inactivated form of it, through vaccination. Essentially, the body is taught to recognize certain antigens and protect itself against them. Thus, a vaccinated person will synthesize the antibodies necessary to fight a disease without going through it and without being exposed to its risks or complications.
However, it takes a period of several days for the production of antibodies to begin and several weeks for them to reach a critical threshold above which they confer protection. During this period, the body is still vulnerable.
Also, certain drugs or convalescent plasma contain antibodies that can help a sick person heal.
In the case of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the body can produce specific antibodies directed against certain structures of the virus. From this point of view, the Spike protein is the first that the body comes into contact with, but also one of the most important targets of the antibodies.
In the case of the COVID-19 vaccines, they "teach" the body to recognize the spike protein of the virus and produce antibodies against it, so that when a vaccinated person comes into contact with the virus, the antibodies already synthesized can neutralize the virus, if they are in sufficient quantity.
Currently, although data is limited, it has been observed that in general, people with asymptomatic or mild forms of the disease will produce a lower amount of antibodies than people who have more severe forms of COVID-19. It is also known that antibodies appear in sufficiently large numbers after 1-3 weeks.
The duration of protection given by the antibodies is still being analyzed, but it has been observed that anti-COVID-19 antibodies are present in the body 6 and even 8 months after infection, and their amount has decreased moderately during these months.
However, it is not yet known what amount is needed to protect a person. These data are still under research and there are multiple studies trying to answer these questions. Also, no clear data are known regarding the ability of antibodies obtained through both disease and vaccination to neutralize other strains of the virus."
