Chennai: A latest study has found that months after recovering from mild cases of Covid-19, people still have immune cells which produce antibodies against the novel coronavirus.
Scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, US, noted that such cells could persist for a lifetime, churning out antibodies all the while.
Published in the journal Nature, the study suggests that mild cases of Covid-19 leave those infected with lasting antibody protection and that repeated bouts of illness are likely to be uncommon.
According to senior author of the study Ali Ellebedy, an associate professor at Washington University School of Medicine, “Last fall, there were reports that antibodies wane quickly after infection with the virus that causes Covid-19, and mainstream media interpreted that to mean that immunity was not long-lived.’
Ellebedy added: ‘But that’s a misinterpretation of the data. It’s normal for antibody levels to go down after acute infection, but they don’t go down to zero; they plateau.”
The researchers found antibody-producing cells in people 11 months after first symptoms. These cells will live and produce antibodies for the rest of people’s lives, and that’s strong evidence for long-lasting immunity, they stated.