COVID-19 immunity may only last a few months, study suggests
Immunity to COVID-19 in recovered patients may only last a few months, a new study conducted by King’s College London has suggested.
According to the research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, immunity antibodies decrease significantly in the three months following infection, leaving patients susceptible to reinfection year after year, similar to the common cold.
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In what is believed to be the first longitudinal study of its kind, researchers looked into the immune response of 90 patients and health-care workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust.
While the analysis revealed a “potent” level of antibodies could be found in 60% of participants while at the peak of their battle with coronavirus, sequential blood tests showed only 17% sustained that same level of potency three months later.
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Antibodies decreased 23-fold in some cases and were depleted entirely in others.
The report states that its findings have “important implications when considering widespread (antibody) testing, (antibody) protection against re-infection with (COVID-19) and the durability of vaccine protection.”
It added: “Further studies using sequential samples from these individuals are required to fully determine the longevity of the (antibody) response and studies determining the (antibodies’) threshold for protection from re-infection are needed.”
Tech Central
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