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How long does coronavirus immunity last? Previously it was thought that one could become infected again as soon as the antibodies were no longer detectable. But a new study from La Jolla, California (USA) gives hope: immunity lasts for years, maybe even decades.
According to the New York Times, eight months after infection, most people have enough immune cells to fight the virus and prevent another disease. So the body has not only corona antibodies, which often decrease after a few months or weeks, but also a weapon against the virus.
Memory cells inspire hope
The latest data from the US study show that although antibodies are no longer detectable, important so-called memory cells remain in the body. Memory immune cells that continue to prevent reinfection. This was the result of an analysis of data from 185 healed people, which researchers from the La Jolla Institute of Immunology obtained.
“This amount of memory cells would likely prevent the vast majority of people from becoming seriously ill again for many years,” Shane Crotty, virologist and co-director of the study, told the New York Times.
The immune system remembers Corona and shuts it down
Corona antibodies are therefore not absolutely necessary for the body to react in case of reinfection. Rather, it needs immune cells that “remember” the virus. These can then prevent reinfection. The immune system recognizes the intruder that is already known and deletes it.
“It can be stopped quickly enough so that people not only have no symptoms but are also not contagious,” said Alessandro Sette, another co-lead on the study.
Good news for the vaccine
This is also good news for the vaccine’s effectiveness. It should reassure experts around the world that the duration of immunity is also crucial for the medium- and long-term effect of vaccination. It can mean you don’t have to be vaccinated again and again, which has been speculated in the meantime. (euc)
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