Around 600,000 people in Germany have now been vaccinated against Corona for the first time. There is a prioritization: First come older people and those who work in medical facilities. Then at some point the younger ones too. But what about people who have already had a corona infection? In theory, they are already adequately protected and may not need a vaccination at all.
Alexander Ehlers from Munich is one of those who already had Corona: “I had no sense of taste at all and no sense of smell either. And completely no sense of smell.”
A blood test showed that he has had antibodies against corona since then. They protect him with great certainty from a new infection.
Infection forms memory cells for immune response
This is now also shown by a study in the journal “Science”: The researchers examined 180 corona patients. Eight months later, antibodies and memory cells for a long immune response were still found in the blood.
Researchers at LMU Munich believe that such long protection does not only arise after a natural infection. But also after a vaccination. Michael Hoelscher, Head of the Department of Infection and Tropical Medicine at LMU Munich: “Everything we see, from the level of antibodies that we currently have during vaccination, will certainly be protected for a year, maybe even a year and a half Protection.”
But do people who have already had Corona no longer have to be vaccinated? The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) only says about this so far: People who have been infected should “initially not be vaccinated”. The additional vaccination does not do any harm, the data so far show. But in this case one vaccine dose might be sufficient.
Waiting for a vaccination after a Covid 19 illness
Infection doctor Michael Hölscher: “If I know that I have an infection, I can wait and relax. And then maybe a year after the infection I have my antibody status checked to see whether the antibodies are still high enough.”
Alexander Ehlers definitely wants to be vaccinated. Because it has a natural protection, others can first get the vaccination.
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