Coronavirus antibodies fall dramatically in first 3 months after mild cases of COVID-19

FINDINGSA study by UCLA researchers shows that in people with mild cases of COVID-19, antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes the disease — drop sharply over the first three monthsafter infection,decreasing by roughly half every  73 days. If sustained at that rate, the antibodies would disappear within about a year.BACKGROUNDPrevious reports have suggested that antibodies against the novel coronavirus are short-lived, but the rate at which theydecrease has not been carefully defined. This is the first study to carefully estimate the rate at which the antibodies disappear.METHODThe researchers studied 20 women and 14 men who recovered from mild cases of COVID-19. Antibody tests were conducted at an average of 36 days and 82 days after the intial symptoms of infection.IMPACTThe findings raise concerns about antibody-based “immunity passports,” the potential for herd immunity and the reliability of antibody tests for estimating past infections. In addition, the findings may have implications for the durability of antibody-based vaccines.AUTHORSF. Javier Ibarrondo, Dr. Jennifer Fulcher, Dr. David Goodman-Meza, Julie Elliott, Christian Hofmann, Mary Hausner, Kathie Ferbas, Dr. Nicole Tobin, Dr. Grace Aldrovandi and Dr Otto Yang, all of UCLA.JOURNALTheresearch is published in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine.FUNDINGThe AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the James B. Pendleton C...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news