For a small fee, it is possible to get the number of coronavirus antibodies determined, and there is no shortage of those who wish to get tested in this way, ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) said.

If last year there was interest in if you had suffered from the virus without knowing, then now people want to know how well the vaccine works.

"Larger amounts of antibodies certainly provide better protection than smaller ones, but here at the moment, we cannot interpret numerically how large this amount could be, that this protection would be very good," Head of Infectious Diseases at Synlab's Tallinn Laboratory Paul Naaber said.

Kai Kisand, a professor of cellular immunology at the University of Tartu said that the level of antibodies in the body changes over time, and a decrease in antibodies is normal and essential for the body to cope.

"We simply cannot maintain this insanely high level of antibodies, insanely high levels of plasma cells that produce antibodies, after exposure to every infectious agent. We need new B cells to be created so that we can fight new pathogens, and this requires that the previous ones quietly disappear," Kisand said.

The professor said that a healthy young or middle-aged person should not worry because a decrease in antibodies does not mean that a person's ability to resist the pathogen is lost.

"Memory cells keep the protection even when the number of antibodies has dropped. Indeed, especially because it doesn't make sense for humans to draw any fundamental conclusions about the level of antibodies themselves. In addition, the methods are different in one laboratory or another," Kisand added.

Paul Naaber said that the presence of antibodies in an unvaccinated person is as sure of proof of having suffered from the virus as a PCR test. However, this certificate could not be used instead of a coronavirus passport.

"Levels of antibodies are relatively variable and rather comparable to a single Pfizer injection," Naaber said.

But why, despite antibodies and memory cells, do some people who are vaccinated or get sick every day?

"This delta strain spreads very quickly and the vaccines cause a systemic immune response in the blood, but it is not as high in the mucous membranes," Kisand explained.

To prevent the disease, a mucosal vaccine would be needed that would provide immediate protection and also be very effective in preventing infections.

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