The study analyzed the blood of 100 patients six months after having had mild or asymptomatic COVID-19.
London:
A small UK study found that ‘cellular immunity’ to the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus is present after six months in people who had mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 infections – suggesting they could have some level of protection for at least that period.
Scientists presenting the results, from 100 outpatients of COVID-19 in Britain, said they were “reassuring” but did not mean people in rare cases cannot be infected twice with the disease .
“While our results lead us to be cautiously optimistic about the strength and duration of immunity generated after infection with SARS-CoV-2, this is only one piece of the puzzle,” said Paul Moss, professor of hematology at the UK University of Birmingham, who co-led the study.
“There is still a lot to learn for us before we have a full understanding of how COVID-19 immunity works.”
The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed by other experts but has been published online on bioRvix, analyzed the blood of 100 patients six months after having had mild or asymptomatic COVID-19. He found that while some of the patients’ antibody levels had dropped, their T cell response – another key part of the immune system – remained robust.
“(Our) early results show that T-cell responses may last longer than the initial antibody response,” said Shamez Ladhani, a consultant epidemiologist at Public Health England who co-led the work.
The study also found that the size of the T-cell response differed and was significantly higher in people who had had symptomatic COVID-19 than in those who had no symptoms when infected.
The researchers said this could be interpreted in two ways: it is possible that higher cellular immunity may offer better protection against reinfection in people who had symptoms, or equally, that asymptomatic patients are better off. able to combat the virus without the need to do so. generate a strong immune response.
Experts not directly involved in the study said its findings were important and would add to a growing body of knowledge about potential protective immunity to COVID-19.
“These results provide assurance that although the titer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies may fall below detectable levels within a few months of infection, a degree of immunity to the virus can be maintained.” said Charles Bangham, president of immunology at Imperial College London.
“However, the crucial question remains: do these persistent T cells offer effective protection against reinfection?”
While more than 46 million people worldwide have been infected with COVID-19, confirmed cases of reinfection have so far been very rare.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
