A new study in the United Kingdom shows that nearly 90% of patients who had been infected with Wuhan pneumonia (novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19) had high levels of antibodies that lasted at least 6 months after recovery, possibly protecting those who had been diagnosed from the virus.
According to a study conducted by UK Biobank between May and December 2020 on 20,200 people in the UK, 99% of the subjects had antibodies in their bodies 3 months after contracting Wuhan pneumonia, and 88% of the subjects had antibodies in their bodies for at least 6 months.
Naomi Allen, chief scientist at the UK Biosample Bank, said that the vast majority of patients retained detectable antibodies in their bodies for at least 6 months after diagnosis. Although it is still uncertain whether this is related to immunity, the findings suggest that people are protected from the virus for at least six months after diagnosis.
A study of health care workers published in the United Kingdom last month found that people diagnosed with Wuhan pneumonia had antibodies that lasted for five months, but the study also noted that people with antibodies could still carry and transmit the virus. Rory Collins, lead researcher at the U.K. Biosample Repository, stressed that this means maintaining social distance, lockdown measures and following government guidelines are quite important.
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