Here is Why You Should Not Immediately Hug a Family Member After COVID-19 Recovery
The absence of a cure or vaccine against COVID-19 indeed makes it a scary illness. However, the majority of the people who contract the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, win their fight against the deadly disease. As the total number of confirmed cases of the disease continues to increase, so does the number of those who recovered from the illness, says an article.
In the middle of March, the total number of patients in the United States of America had officially recovered from COVID-19 was almost zero. Currently, that number had grown to tens of thousands and it continuously increases every day. However, recovering from the disease is more than just feeling better.
How Does the Body Battle the Illness?
Upon contracting the deadly novel coronavirus, one's body begins producing antibodies. These antibodies help fight off the infection. As the antibodies begin to successfully control the virus and prevent it from multiplying inside a person's body, symptoms normally start to reduce and that person begins to feel better. If all goes well, the immune system will be able to completely eradicate all the infection caused by the novel coronavirus inside the body.
An individual who was previously infected and survived its effects with no long-term health complication or disability is then declared to have 'recovered' from it.
Do Not Hug Your Family Just Yet
On average, a person who gets infected with the novel coronavirus will feel unwell for approximately seven days from the time the symptoms of COVID-19 starts to show.
It should be noted that even if the symptoms of the illness disappeared, it does not mean that there are no more traces of the virus inside the body of the patient. They should also continue isolating themselves from anyone for at least three more days to ensure that they have fully recovered.
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About Immunity
Typically, once a person recovers from a viral infection, that person's body will keep cells called lymphocytes that remember viruses the body has previously eliminated. These cells can make immediate reactions to previous infections and defeat them again.
Generally, persons who get infected with a virus it has defeated before will be able to eliminate it before it starts causing symptoms, which means that a person becomes immune to that viral infection. This is the underlying principle used when creating vaccines.
However, immunity has its weaknesses. For different viruses, such as mumps, immunity can deteriorate over time, this leaves an individual susceptible to contracting the virus again in the future. It is one of the main reasons why people need to get revaccinated to signal the immune system to make more antibodies and memory cells.
Since the novel coronavirus is recently discovered, scientists are still unknowledgeable if those who recovered from COVID-19 will be immune from future infection from the illness.
Doctors are discovering antibodies from ill and recovered patients. This indicates that the possibility of the development of immunity.