The scientist gave comments to a local news channel.

“The coronavirus is 99% sure to stay with us forever,” said Zelenikhin. “It’s now out of control and will forever be with humans. There are four coronaviruses causing common cold, and this coronavirus will be the fifth, returning every year. It’s so widely spread now that we are not likely to completely extirpate it like we did, for instance, with smallpox. We can only take control over its spread and the epidemic process.”

The most important contribution to that can be made by vaccines. However, the researcher is not sure about how stable the immunity can actually be, “We know the antibody titers resulting from a vaccine. However, no one yet knows which level can actually protect against the virus and how long it persists in the organism.”

He also touched on the distinguishing symptoms of COVID-19, “It’s a group of symptoms which are more prevalent, but it doesn’t mean they are always present. With coronavirus, you get sore throat, then dry cough, and fever. This group of symptoms gives reason to suspect coronavirus, but the real diagnosis can only be determined with a test.”

Zelenikhin, among other things, advises to get quality sleep, because rest is one of the important contributing factors for overall immune resistance to pathogens.

Source text: Rufina Gimaletdinova

Photo: Alexander Kuznetsov

Translation: Yury Nurmeev