Studies suggest that COVID-19 “immune memory” can last at least 6 months

Angels — According to a recently published study, it may produce some level of COVID-19 “immune memory” that protects against coronavirus after infection, and may last longer than previously thought.

The purpose of this study was to analyze whether people’s bodies remember the coronavirus and how it leads to protection from the virus.

by the study, BioRxiv (Biology’s online preprint server). Immunity to the coronavirus infection that causes COVID-19 can last at least 6 months, and in some cases much longer, after a person is first infected.

“Your immune system tends to remember something more threatening,” said Dr. Shane Crotti, an immune and vaccine scientist and senior co-author of the study. “More than 90% had considerable immune memory.”

The study consisted of 185 US adults aged 19 to 81 years who recovered from the coronavirus.

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Researcher observations have shown that individuals may have a significant amount of “immune memory” of the COVID-19 virus, even after 6-8 months.

“Most people have been making immune memory for at least six months, and it looks like a kind of immune memory that can probably prevent most people from getting serious illness again,” Crotty said. I got it.

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said: In case of reinfection Reported at COVID-19.

In the United States, COVID-19 reinfection was first reported on October 12.

According to the treatise Release According to the medical journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, residents of Nevada initially tested positive for the virus in April and had symptoms such as sore throat, cough, headache, and nausea. He recovered in May and tested negative for the virus. In early June, he tested positive for the virus again and went to the hospital. He later recovered.

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Scientists and experts have also compared the ability of the coronavirus to mutate influenza. This further leads to uncertainty as to whether long-term immunity actually occurs when the virus is constantly changing.

However, Crotty explained that the immune system recognizes many parts of the virus. That is, even if one part of the virus mutates, the immune system recognizes the other part of the virus.

Nonetheless, the findings are in contrast to other studies previously conducted by researchers, showing that immunity after infection with the coronavirus can weaken after only a few months.

According to a study by Imperial College London, a finger stab test conducted between June 20th and September 28th reduced the number of COVID-19 antibody-positive testers from 6% to 4.4%. Three months.

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another Survey Antibodies detected in the human body fighting the coronavirus declined in just a few weeks, according to a statement released by King’s College London researchers on July 11, and the possibility of widespread “herd immunity” against the virus is out of the question. became.

Researchers found that 60% of participants built a “strong” antibody response, while only 17% retained its potency at the end of the three-month study period. ..

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Meanwhile, another national population-based study Release Despite the large impact of COVID-19, the antibody’prevalence estimates are low and clearly insufficient to provide herd immunity, according to researchers in the Spanish medical journal The Lancet. I found out.

“These other studies examined only a small portion of the immune system, which is an antibody,” said Crotti, who said his study aimed at taking a different view of the immune system.

In Crotty’s study, blood samples were taken and multiple components of the immune system, including antibodies, B cells, and T cells, were studied over time in adults.

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“It’s a really good sign, as most people have a memory of all three parts,” Crotti said. “The fact that your immune system recognizes and remembers this virus in multiple ways means that there are multiple different opportunities to help your immune system protect you from this virus. I will. “

Although the study showed significant immune memory in adults, Crotti said that 3-10% of individuals had little immune memory, suggesting that some individuals are more likely to re-infect sooner. It was. Researchers have not been able to identify why certain people are different.