A new study suggests that the body’s immune response to the new coronavirus may last at least eight months after the onset of symptoms of the initial infection.
The duration of immunity against Covid-19 has been the subject of research through the pandemic, and so far studies have provided several results. In July last year, a study suggested that immunity could be lost in months. How The Indian Express then reported, researchers at King’s College London drew this conclusion from a drop they observed in antibody levels in patients recovered from Covid-19 over time – from a “potent level” in 60% of patients. study participants during the peak of the infection up to 16.7% only power level 65 days later. Although that study suggested that patients recovering from Covid-19 are likely to continue to be susceptible to reinfection, the new study suggests that almost all Covid-19 survivors have the immune cells needed to fight reinfection.
The study, published in the journal Science, is based on analysis of blood samples from 188 patients. “Our data suggest that the immune response is there, and it is maintained,” said Alessandro Sette of the La Jolla Institute (LJI), who co-led the study with Shane Crotty and Daniela Weiskopf, in a statement. issued by LJI.
“We measured antibodies, memory B cells, helper T cells and killer T cells at the same time. As far as we know, this is the largest study ever done, for any acute infection, that has measured all four components of immune memory, ”said LJI, Crotty said.
The findings could mean that Covid-19 survivors would have protective immunity against serious SARS-CoV-2 virus disease for months, perhaps years, after infection, the researchers said. His study addresses concerns arising from Covid-19 data from other laboratories, which demonstrated a dramatic decline in Covid-specific antibodies over time.
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As the researchers said, the decrease in antibodies is very normal. “It simply came to our notice then. They have a first phase of increase and, after this fantastic expansion, the immune response contracts a bit and reaches a steady state, ”Sette said.