some uninfected people have already developed immunity

According to a study conducted by British researchers and published in the journal Science Friday, people not infected with SARS-CoV-2 are likely to develop antibodies to Covid-19. Explanations.

We learn a little more every day about Covid-19. According to a new study conducted by the Francis Crick Institute of London and University College London (UCL), a small number of people who have never been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may be able to develop antibodies against Covid. -19. The study involved 302 people. The scientists compared the blood of patients with Covid-19 to patients who did not have the disease. They found that 16 adults carried IgG antibodies. This represents 5.3% of the study population.

Another interesting discovery would be that of the smallest children, children and adolescents aged 1 to 16, not infected with the coronavirus, who have mostly developed a pre-existing immunity to Covid-19. 21 of the 48 participants in this age group, or 43.8%, would have anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody levels.

According to the researchers, these findings could explain, in part, why young people are more resistant to Covid-19 and older adults more vulnerable to the virus. The researchers speculate that these antibodies are likely the result of exposure to other coronaviruses, which cause colds and have structural similarities to SARS-CoV-2.

Further research

“Our results show that children are much more likely to develop cross-reacting antibodies than adults. More research is needed to understand why, but it could be because children are more regularly exposed to other coronaviruses, ”confirms Kevin Ng, one of the study’s authors and a graduate student at Francis Crick’s immunology lab.

In the laboratory, scientists studied antibodies in the blood of uninfected people. They found that they “cross-reacted with subunit 2 of the SRARS-CoV2 spike protein complex.” “These higher levels we found in children could also help understand why they are less likely to get seriously ill with Covid-19. However, there is still no evidence that these antibodies prevent or spread SARS-CoV-2 infection, ”adds Kevin Ng.

George Kassiotis, lead author and head of the department of Francis Crick’s immunology laboratory, specifies, for his part, that “it is important to point out that there are still many unknowns that require further research. For example, how is immunity to one coronavirus affected by exposure to another? Or why does this activity decrease with age?

A new study is currently underway, in collaboration with researchers from Imperial College London and University College London, to understand the role that various antibodies and other immune defenses play in protecting against COVID 19 and the severity of the disease.

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