A top doctor in Russia has accused a virologist of faking Covid-19 reinfection.
Head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Dr Anna Popova hit out at professor Alexander Chepurno after he made the claim that the country was facing mass reinfections, reported Daily Mail.
Virologist Alexander made the claim that he was exposed to the coronavirus during a skiing trip in Italy. As per him, he deliberately exposed himself to the coronavirus again after recovering in order to study it.
The 69-year-old virologist, who works as a senior researcher at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Novosibirsk, claims that he has recovered from Covid-19 again and has demanded that there should be a study of those people who are catching the virus again after being infected once.
The report quotes Dr Anna saying that they have investigated the situation and have not found any evidence to prove that there was any reinfection.
But according to Alexander, he has documentary evidence of his first and second infection. He believes that Dr Anna is mistaken.
According to the report, Mikhail Murashko, the Health Minister of Russia has also contacted Anna and informed her that there have been cases of reinfection.
Speaking about his reinfection, Alexander said that he had antibodies for three months after the first infection but they reduced gradually. The first time he got infected, it was not a severe case, however, the second time, the virologist had to be hospitalised. But Alexander says that surprisingly, this time the virus went away quickly.
It is believed that high levels of T cells, which are a part of the immune system of the body, can make people immune to the coronavirus. Studies suggest that high levels of T cells can make someone immune to the coronavirus for months and at times, years.