MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Epidemiological studies have shown that those with a light form of the coronavirus infection develop immunity only for a couple of months, laboratory chief at the Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Ilnaz Imatdinov said in an interview with the Russia-24 TV channel on Wednesday.
He did not agree with the opinion that by the time the vaccine appears the population will already develop herd immunity. "Unfortunately, currently the research shows the reverse situation when people having had a light form preserve the antibody titer for several months which then disappears. Accordingly, it is not quite clear, how the second wave will affect those people, whether they’ll get sick again or not - this issue remains open," he said.
Earlier the researcher said that the industrial production of the peptide vaccine being developed at the Vector Center may start at the end of 2020 - the beginning of 2021.
According to the latest statistics, over 16,908,600 people have been infected worldwide and more than 663,000 deaths have been reported. To date, 828,990 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 620,333 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 13,673 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.