By Marco Bratusch
Longtime Belgian ring official Phillippe Wouters is now back home. The 61-year-old ring official, who has conducted more than 500 bouts combined as referee and judge, contracted Covid-19 virus likely at the end of February.
After spending almost six weeks in a hospital in serious conditions – including a few days in a medically induced coma because of some complications – he eventually won his battle and was sent back home in Plainevaux, Belgium, early this week. The EBU board and his colleagues wish him a full recovery and to be back on the boxing stage again soon.
If my memory is correct, the WHO (World Health Organization) claimed that COVID-19 is approximately 10x more potent than the swine flu in 2009. I watched a webinar where microbiologists found 30 different proteins on the outer surface of the COVID-19 that is used to infect or respond to hosts. What is enlightening is some our of current drugs on the market respond to the existing proteins to weaken the virus. However, more testing is in the works to see how high the doses are needed to breakdown the virus without having toxic doses in our system(s). A vaccine is being constructed now, but no word on the extensive testing and its approval in a decent time frame. As mentioned, this is a work in progress. The updates are endless and on a daily basis.
And after recovering people like Phillippe Wouters should now have more resistance against Covid-19 for future contact with the virus I read.
I agree, some immunity should develop with antibodies once exposure is established. The mystery in some acute studies were some folks tested positive again long after they recovered from the first bout. Almost like another exposure. The studies did not say anything about the severity of symptoms. My guess they should be of less severity.
Don’t know who this man is, but I’m glad to hear he recovered. Too many people have fallen to this virus.