‘Antibodies most potent weapon to combat COVID-19’, says ICMR-Jodhpur’s Dr. Arun Sharma

Vaccines provide long-term immunity by generating antibodies, says Dr Arun Sharma of ICMR, Jodhpur

Antibodies are the most potent weapon to beat coronavirus and vaccines provide long-term immunity by generating adequate antibodies in the body. Natural infection, too, leads to antibodies formation, giving protection against the re-infection to an extent. Dr. Arun Sharma, a community medicine expert and Director, National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases-ICMR, Jodhpur, explains the relationship between the infection and antibodies, when and whether to check the presence of antibodies and how they help fight the virus. When a new virus affects a population, the body’s immune system recognises it as a foreign body and develops antibodies against it. Since antibodies take time to develop, the infection causes a severe disease, depending upon the pathogenicity of the virus, virus load, immunity of the person, and so on. But when the same pathogen strikes the next time, the antibodies, which are already present in the body, get activated fast and so the severity of the disease reduces. For example, rotavirus affects the digestive system. It was observed that in the 1990s it used to cause severe diarrhoea in children but gradually children developed antibodies against it and the severity of the disease came down. But then it began to affect the foreign travellers to India as they were not exposed to the virus in their countries. So, this is how a new virus works unless it mutates to become more transmissible or pathogenic.