COVID-19 and prospect for survival

Michael H. Momeni, PhD

I think that we don't have a road map for the future. The public reaction and the outcome for the next two years are uncertain.

In order to acquire immunity to the COVID-19, our immunological system would need the challenge, i.e. COVID-19 virus antigen. We were not born with the antibody to repel this virus. The response (or antibody‐mediated response) involves B cells that recognize antigens or pathogens that are circulating in the lymph or blood. We don't have specific inoculation for this virus. Does this mean that we all have to get exposed and survive to be immune? Does this mean that weaker people would die until a vaccine has been developed and the public would have been inoculated?

A proposed approach to nullify the body response to the COVID-19 would be an administration of anti-COVID-19 drugs. At present, such a drug does not exist or could ever be manufactured. The projected time for the development of the vaccine is reported to be a couple of years.

The native Americans paid a high price when they were exposed to old world diseases. But the stronger native Americans survived. The present generation of native Americans' biological responses to old diseases is very similar to other people. Would this also happen to all of us, all of us who live on this planet?

 I have asked myself the following questions:

1. Once an individual gets the COVID-19 and survives, would the created immunity make the individual resistant to a new infection with another mutated COVID-19? How long would the immunity continue before requiring a booster reinoculation?

2. Do we have drugs to cure any of the infections caused by any of the viral diseases? We have the vaccination to prevent infection for some of the viral diseases.  We still get cold and flu and suffer through it.  

3. Could a person infected with the COVID-19 and have survived the disease still capable to infect other people?

4. Has the COVID-19 mutated since it was discovered? Would a vaccine for an existing COVID-19 genome still function for the mutated virus?

It is not a national problem only, it is an international problem. The international effort would be needed to survive this new disease. This is not an optimistic outlook. It depresses me. I hope and wish I am wrong.

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