‘Exposure to virus can build immunity’

BENGALURU: With conversations around the pandemic slowly moving from ‘when will we find a vaccine’ to ‘adapting to the new normal’, 150 alumni of the 1980 batch of IIT Kanpur have already started acclimatising themselves to the virus, so life can get back to normal. The members have been strongly advocating exposing oneself to small viral loads of Covid-19 (herd immunity), which is possible by just wearing a mask and going about one’s activities.

Immunity can only be increased by being exposed to pathogens, said the alumni. “With small doses of the virus, the immune system can overcome and learn to recognise them for future swift reprisals,” they said.After several deliberations among themselves, the group, whose members are spread across various countries, decided that the best way forward was to don a mask or even a face shield, and go about work normally. 

“Keeping yourself quarantined just weakens the immune system,” Mohan Tambe, an alumnus, told TNIE. “The immune system does not require medicine and herbs, but challenges. It needs to fight pathogens in the air and be prepared. By isolating and remaining in quarantine, we are depriving the immune system,” he added.“Masks will ensure that the exposure is milder,” Tambe explained. “When the virus load is low, our immune system can easily tackle it. Even vaccines give small viral loads which can be tackled by the immune system. Here, the same happens, but in a natural way,” he said.