Coronavirus immunity may be lost just a few MONTHS after infection, study finds
IMMUNITY to fight coronavirus might disappear only three months after infection, a worrying study shows.
The King’s College research said antibody responses to the killer bug “can be detected in most infected individuals 10-15 days following the onset of Covid-19 symptoms”.
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But, it's all downhill from there, going by the , which has yet to be peer-reviewed.
As the points out, the findings suggest we are at risk of contracting the disease on a regular basis - until a suitable vaccine can be created to fend off the new virus.
King's College says in its report that "due to the recent emergence of this virus in the human population, it is not yet known how long these antibody responses will be maintained, or whether they will provide protection from re-infection."
It investigated samples from 65 coronavirus patients, 94 days after they had been diagnosed with Covid-19.
The researchers analysed the immune response of patients and healthcare workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust.
Sixty per cent of those who had contracted the disease had a "potent" reaction during the height of infection.
“People are producing a reasonable antibody response to the virus," said Dr Katie Doores, lead author.
She added: "But it’s waning over a short period of time and depending on how high your peak is, that determines how long the antibodies are staying around."
It could have implications for vaccines, as Dr Doores said people's immunity "may need boosting and one shot might not be sufficient".
“Infection tends to give you the best-case scenario for an antibody response, so if your infection is giving you antibody levels that wane in two to three months, the vaccine will potentially do the same thing,” she added.
It's a further blow to those hoping for herd immunity, as coronvirus cases continue to surge across the globe.
This is when a virus can no longer spread easily because enough people are immune to it.
That lowers the chances of the virus jumping from person to person and reaching those who haven’t been infected yet.
People can become immune to certain viruses after surviving infection or being vaccinated.
Typically, at least 70 per cent of a population must be immune to achieve herd immunity.
But how long immunity lasts varies depending on the virus, and it’s not yet known how long Covid-19 survivors might have that protection.
How easily the virus spreads also plays a key role.
Dr Walter Orenstein, a vaccine expert at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, said the chances of an infected person passing it on to others would be lower if half the population is already immune.
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The odds of transmission fall further if even more of the population is immune. That could cause new infections to die out.
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But if a virus is more infectious, a higher percentage of people would need to have immunity to stop the spread and achieve herd immunity, Orenstein said.
Efforts are continuing to develop the first vaccine against the new bug, including in China, the UK and the US.