Study: Immune for at least six months after infection with a new coronavirus



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This was found in a large study of re-infections with the new coronavirus. Healthcare professionals have otherwise noted that this happens relatively rarely.

Oxford University professor David Eyre, one of the study’s authors, pointed out the findings as excellent news. “We can be sure that, at least in the short term, most of those who have contracted covid-19 will not get sick again,” he said.

The authors pointed out that they have not yet collected enough data to evaluate the possibility of reinfection after six months. The aim of the ongoing study is to determine how long full protection against reinfection lasts.

Katie Jeffery, director of the Department of Infection Prevention and Control at Oxford University Hospital (OUH), described the findings as exciting, as they show that infection provides at least short-term protection against reinfection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the study because its findings broaden the understanding of protection against novel coronavirus infection.

WHO spokesman Michael Ryan said in Geneva that the antibody response, detailed in the study, gave hope that the covid-19 vaccines they were still developing would provide a “longer period of protection.”

The study used regular test data on 12,180 OUH healthcare workers over a 30-week period. They found that none of the 1246 workers who had antibodies developed a symptomatic infection. Three tested positive for infection but were fine and developed no symptoms.

WHO said it was working with 50 countries to conduct antibody response studies in different groups, such as the general population or healthcare professionals. The results are collected to get a bigger picture of how the pandemic is developing.

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