Covid: what happens to asymptomatic patients if they get vaccinated? | the Chronicle

Given the repeated posts on Facebook and other social networks, where it is stated without any scientific basis that if a person has already passed through the coronavirus, they do not need a vaccine, experts have clarified the situation of those who have already had the disease and stressed the need to vaccinate the entire population.

In this sense, the recommendation of doctors is that people who have already been infected with COVID-19, with or without symptoms, get vaccinated when possible, because vaccination does not represent a health risk and protects against future infections.

Asymptomatic patients are those who “They catch the disease, but have no symptoms”, something that is not equivalent, explained the immunologist to the factual AFP Arturo Borzutzky, professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Chile, who clarified that although they do not show symptoms “They are still contagious and very dangerous because they usually don’t know they have COVID-19 and lead relatively normal lives”.

For his part, the Chilean immunologist pointed out that “An immune person is someone who has defenses against this infectious agent and is therefore not contagious”He added that people who already have COVID-19 generate some immunity to the disease.

On this line he stated that “In general, patients develop antibodies and other defenses that help keep the virus at bay” and that until now “It is known that it is unlikely that a person will be infected again within three months of contracting the disease”.

However, he pointed out that “This immunity is not necessarily long-lasting and it may be that after a year it will spread again”, because “There are enough reports to know that there is no such thing as full immunity forever.”.

In this regard, the journal Nature reported that antibody levels against COVID-19 “They decrease over time, but the nature and quality of memory B cells that would be needed to produce defenses against possible reinfection have not been examined.”, therefore, it is extremely important that people get vaccinated.

For its part, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pointed out that “the immunity that a person acquires by contracting the virus, called natural immunity, varies from person to person. Preliminary evidence suggests it doesn’t last long. “

Thus, Borzutzky pointed out that “If a person who has had the virus in the past gets the vaccine, it will boost their immunity and the likelihood of falling seriously ill will drop significantly.” and that it works for both symptomatic patients and those who have had the virus without showing symptoms.