11 February 2021 - 14:34 Wits University’s Prof Shabir Madhi. Image: Supplied
Vaccines are the talk of the town, but what about the natural immunity (or lack thereof) enjoyed by those who have suffered through Covid-19?
And what about those who were infected but asymptomatic - do they have any antibodies to speak of?
What about immunity against the new variant if you got sick in the first wave? Is an antibody test even worth getting?
In this podcast, Sunday Times senior science reporter Tanya Farber digs into some of these questions with the esteemed Prof Shabir Madhi, a global leader in infectious diseases and a vaccinologist at Wits University, where he is dean of health sciences.
South Africa has been especially hard hit. A mutant strain that local scientists said last week is 50 per cent more infectious, is ravaging the country. Hospitals are turning patients away, medical oxygen supply is stretched, and undertakers are struggling to cope with burials. More than 40,500 deaths related to Covid-19 have been reported so far.
The South African government has set a target to have two-thirds of its 60 million people inoculated, but it has yet to secure the 80 million doses scientists say would be needed to achieve this. The state has committed to purchasing 12 million doses through Covax, the global initiative to secure vaccines for poorer countries.