People who unfortunately succumb to the bite or a scratch from an animal are usually treated with a shot which prevents a known virus from that animal from taking a hold of your body causing an infection. This concept has prompted medical experts to try a similar approach in regard to treating the coronavirus which has recently taken over most health field studies over the last six months.
Once a person contracts a virus, the body produces antibodies in the blood to fight off the infection or disease and which should prevent reinfections from occurring. Our body's immunity acquired through vaccines and the immunity the body can naturally produce serves the same function, but they don’t always work the same way. We have two types of immunity: innate immunity and adaptive immunity. The former immediately jumps into action in a short amount of time, within hours or even minutes, while the later where immunity develops over days and maybe over weeks.
Medical experts are not yet aware if a person who was once previously infected and who has recovered from the virus and has produced responsive antibodies can get infected for a second time, however, there are cases where a person has fully recuperated and yet contracted the COVID-19 virus once again. The second infection may have different symptoms due to the fact that each virus has a unique ribosome molecular protein which makes it difficult to find a cure. And with each virus, new antibodies need to be produced to deal with that specific virus.
There are tests available to investigate whether a person has had COVID-19 by taking an antibody test. Many people around the world have been asymptomatic carriers of the virus, remaining unaware. This test can help in the accuracy of the infections and the infection rates which inevitably help in research.
This brings up the necessity of why people, whether they are infected or not, should wear masks in public at all times. Thousands of infections could have been prevented if caution were taken. Due to the prior knowledge that there is still no vaccine to this COVID-19 virus, the wearing of masks is paramount with the containing of the infection rate. Abnegation of citizens from wearing masks endangers themselves but also the people they come into contact with. The coronavirus is transmitted through the day to day activities such as talking, handshaking, and hugging, which social distancing needs to be enforced because even social distancing without a mask is not safe enough as long as there are people around.
By being responsible, the spread of the virus can be contained alleviating the pressures of the health care system and allowing the people who really need attention to be helped.