Howie Severino reflects on the new roles of recovered COVID-19 patients
Howie Severino talks about how recovering from the dreaded COVID-19 can be so empowering in his article published on GMA News Online.
Howie spent 11 days confined in a hospital before being declared free of COVID-19. He survived the new coronavirus disease as patient 2828.
Now on his way to full healing, the GMA News pillar likened his recovery to earning an amulet or anting-anting that lowers his risk of reinfection.
Howie Severino on COVID-19 battle: “Don't underestimate the power of the mind”
He said, “But what it really is, is the magic of our immune systems. When the coronavirus entered our bodies, our immune systems were robust enough to fight back, creating soldiers in our blood called antibodies that counterattacked the alien virus until it was destroyed. Those antibodies stay in our blood -- for how long science still does not know, but for at least a few months and perhaps years - and stand guard against future infections.”
Howie also encouraged other recovered COVID-19 patients to share this “accidental gift” of immunity and help save lives.
Those who have received medical clearance that they are virus-free and cannot reinfect others may donate their plasma. According to his article, the Department of Health reported that there are only 201 among the survivors who have developed immunity.
He explained, “In the age of lockdown, newly immune survivors can be the vanguard workforce, helping jumpstart the economy and performing essential services without fear. We can comfort the dying, attend funerals, and hug the loved ones left behind. We can remind people of what their former lives were like, setting a goal and giving them the strength to keep enduring quarantine and resist the temptation to escape lockdowns. Most of all, survivors are proof that this fearsome disease can be beaten. The prize is not just survival, but freedom.”
Howie is set to provide a closer look at his personal experience in dealing with the new coronavirus disease through a special documentary on i-Witness on Saturday, April 18.