COVID-19: Even months after infection, you can still have symptoms — Expert

Despite the World Health Organization’s announcement that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, Dr Adeola Fowotade, a virologist, says many individuals with the disease, even months after they contracted the infection, will still grapple with a myriad of nervous system changes related to it.

Fowotade, the coordinator, Biorepository Clinical Virology Laboratory at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, spoke at the hybrid 2023 International Day of Immunology celebration by the Nigerian Society for Immunology

According to her, these neurological changes and lowered immunity ultimately will make them develop long COVID.

She declared that although these persons would have recovered, thinking that the storm is over, some months down the line, they may develop myriad of symptoms, including neurological and cardiovascular symptoms, which ultimately will make them develop long COVID.

According to her, through studies on how the body’s immune system works, it is now possible to predict individuals that might end up with long COVID and for doctors to be able to plan ahead on how best to help them.

Dr Fowotade stated that from studies in Nigeria, although some have developed a natural immunity after getting exposed to COVID, it is still better for Nigerians to take the COVID-19 jab to ensure a longer vaccine-mediated immunity against the disease.

“The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases is definitely underestimated because there is a category of people that will have asymptomatic but subclinical infections but will not come out for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID testing.

“Also, studies have identified a subunit; about 23 percent who have had at least two completed doses of the vaccine but do not have antibodies against the disease at all.

“In addition, when persons that took both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were followed up over a period of two to nine months, in both instances, the rate of depletion of the antibodies over time were similar across the subjects, thus showing us that there is no supremacy in these vaccines in terms of their ability to provoke immune response in the body.

“Also, a study compared natural immunity that occurs following infection with that post-vaccination. It was found that in both instances, both immunities generated were comparable and equivalent.

“However, the caveat is that you cannot say how long before the natural immunity decline but that from the vaccine will most likely last longer.

“People that have developed natural immunity from a natural infection and then got vaccinated again are said to have hybrid immunity. The interesting thing about it is that they tend to have a more potent immune response that lasts much longer than that from a natural infection or vaccination. So, it is good to still take the COVID vaccine after recovering from the infection.”

Earlier, president of the Nigerian Society for Immunology, Professor Ganiyu Arinola, in a welcome address said that the understanding of the human immune system has improved public health and the event will further allow experts to share their knowledge and experience in the field of immunology.