27-10-2020 by Mirai
Recent work on immunity and Covid-19, conducted by British researchers, reveals that antibodies decrease more rapidly in infected but asymptomatic people.
In this second wave of the epidemic, research on immunity is more relevant than ever. According to a recent British study, asymptomatic patients have a weaker immune response than patients with Covid-19 symptoms.
Looking closely at tests performed on more than 365,000 people in England, researchers at Imperial College London, UK, found that "the antibody response to the virus that causes Covid-19 weakens over time."
The immunity of patients infected with the virus decreases over time.
Antibody tests, conducted at home between June 20 and September 28, showed that "the number of people who tested positive fell by 26.5% over the entire period studied, from almost 6% to 4.4 % ".
During their research, the authors also found that, although the downward trend was observed throughout the territory and in all age groups, people working in the health field had a better immune response, probably due to repeated and higher exposure to the virus.
Covid-19: fewer antibodies over time, especially in people without symptoms
This work was also able to demonstrate that the antibodies of asymptomatic patients infected with the virus decreased more rapidly than those of patients presenting symptoms of the disease (fever, loss of taste and smell, cough, fatigue, etc., rigidity).
The drop in antibody levels during these tests was greatest in people who did not report a history of the disease and therefore did not know that they had previously been infected with the virus.
A decrease in antibodies was seen in almost two-thirds (64.0%) of them, compared to a decrease of 22.3% in people who were confirmed to be infected by laboratory tests.
"A positive antibody test does not mean you are immune to COVID-19. It is not yet clear what level of immunity the antibodies provide, or how long that immunity lasts. If a person is tested positive for antibodies, they still should follow government guidelines, "said Professor Paul Elliott, lead author of the study.
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