Experts explain the possible absence of antibodies after vaccination against COVID

Some people may not develop antibodies to the disease after being vaccinated against the CORONAVIRUS due to the characteristics of their body. This was reported by experts interviewed by RBC.

How migrant workers are vaccinated against covid-19 in Moscow. Photo report Photo gallery 

“Everyone’s body is very individual, so the immune system works very individually. Not everyone can be like soldiers. [The production of antibodies] depends on a lot of factors — on the environment in which a person lives, what kind of genetics he has, what functional state his body is in,” said Larisa Popovich, DIRECTOR of the Institute of HEALTH Economics at the Higher School of Economics.

The WHO explained why you should not rely on antibodies before vaccination

Alexander Chepurnov, HEAD of the Laboratory for Especially Dangerous Infections of the Federal Research Center for Fundamental and Translational Medicine, noted that antibodies may not form in people with immunodeficiency or other disorders. He added that a high immune stratum would help ease the burden on those who are "poorly vaccinated" or not vaccinated at all.

“We have many examples when people get sick for the second and even the third time, and sometimes more severely than the first time. This is immunologically explained by the fact that strains have appeared that are not only transmitted faster, but also multiply. If the virus, when it enters the body, does not immediately meet with a sufficient level of antibodies, then this process will be intensive, ”Chepurnov said.

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The interlocutor of RBC added that the “washout rate” of antibodies to COVID-19 is different for everyone. In his opinion, "this is a thing that, in a good way, should be monitored."

Earlier, a general practitioner at the European Medical Center (EMC), Alexander Dolenko, said that more often than not, antibodies do not form in older people after vaccination, but in general, such cases are rare. He also noted that now nowhere in the world is it determined how many antibodies a person should have in order not to get sick with COVID-19, even those who have a lot of them can get infected. The DOCTOR added that the positive effect of vaccination or previous disease is not limited to the formation of antibodies, there are other protective mechanisms.

WHO does not recommend the use of antibody tests to make vaccination decisions. The official representative of the organization in RUSSIA, Melita Vujnovich, explained to RBC that assessing immunity is a difficult task and requires complex laboratories. Antibody testing is for research purposes and should not be the basis for an individual's decisions during a pandemic.

Spread of coronavirus Covid-19 in the world July 7 Number of confirmed cases of infection <1000 0 <100,000 0 <1,000,000 0 <10,000,000 0 from 10,000,000 0 Created with Highmaps 5.0.10010M20M30M40MZoom in+Zoom out- Source: JHU Data around the world i