SARS-CoV-2 antibodies persist for months after infection, a new study shows.
One of the most significant questions about the novel coronavirus is whether people who are infected are immune from reinfection and, if so, for how long.
To determine the answer, researchers studied the production of antibodies from a sample of nearly 6,000 people and found immunity persists for at least several months after being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
“We clearly see high-quality antibodies still being produced five to seven months after SARS-CoV-2 infection,” says Deepta Bhattacharya, associate professor in the immunology department at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson and coauthor of the new study in Immunity.
“Many concerns have been expressed about immunity against COVID-19 not lasting. We used this study to investigate that question and found immunity is stable for at least five months.”…read more.