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LONDON – The number of people with Covid-19 antibodies has dropped significantly over the summer, according to a large English study, suggesting that exposure to the virus may not provide long-lasting immunity to future infections.
A survey of 5,365,000 adults in England who tested themselves using finger-prick testing at home showed the proportion of people testing positive for Covid-19 antibodies between June 20 – 12 weeks after the peak of infection in the country, and on 28 September.
The results also indicated that people who did not show symptoms were more likely to lose detectable antibodies before showing symptoms. The study, conducted by Imperial College London and the Ipsos Mori Polling Institute, was funded by the British government, which announced the results and published the study on Monday night. The results have not been reviewed by other experts.
Doctors do not yet know whether antibodies to Covid-19 provide any effective immunity against regeneration. But if they do and the results of this survey are confirmed, it suggests that the possibility of long-term herd immunity from the virus will be difficult to achieve. Animal husbandry Immunity occurs when enough people in a population develop immunity through previous infection or vaccination, so that the virus does not spread easily and even those who are not immune are protected.
These findings show that people aged 18-24 lost antibodies at a slower rate than those aged 75 and over. The lowest reduction of 14.9% was in people aged 18 to 24 years, and the largest reduction of 29% was in people aged 75 and over.
This study reflects previous small tests and suggests that like other seasonal coronaviruses such as the common cold, there is a decrease in antibodies to the virus in the 6-12 months after infection. This study does not suggest that other types of immune responses, such as those contributed by so-called T cells – will help protect against re-infection.
The study showed that 6% of the UK population had antibodies on 20 June, compared to 4.4% on 28 September. At the end of September, 9% showed antibodies in London, compared to only 1.6% in the least affected area. In the south-west of England.
Among ethnic groups, 13.8% of blacks tested with antibodies in late September and 9.7% of Asians ખાસ especially South Asians. This compares favorably with white.6% of whites. U.K. In, minority ethnic groups, suffer disproportionately from the virus.
The authors acknowledged that the trial had limitations. “This includes randomly sampling the population, but it is possible that people who were exposed to the virus were less likely to participate over time, which could contribute to a clear population antibody decline.”
Write to Stephen Fidler at [email protected]
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