Research suggests COVID-19 antibodies may only last a few months or even just weeks

[SouthernCal_Dem]

Among the many lingering questions about the coronavirus, one of the most crucial is: How long do antibodies last?

With some diseases, like measles and hepatitis A, infection is a one-and-done deal. Once you get sick and recover, you're immune for life.

"For human coronaviruses, that's not the case," Florian Krammer, a vaccinologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told Business Insider. "You can get repeatedly infected once your immunity goes down."

Increasingly, research is starting to coalesce around an unfortunate picture of COVID-19 immunity: People who develop antibodies might not keep them for very long.

Last month, a study showed that antibodies may last only two to three months. Then research published Monday suggested that antibodies could last only three to five weeks in some patients.


https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-antibodies-last-just-months-2020-7

[Nevilledog]

1. Just keeps getting worse. *sigh*

[LisaL]

2. I don't know how we could get a successful vaccine then either.

Are we going to have to be vaccinated every three weeks? I don't think that's realistic.

[Drunken Irishman]

5. No...but maybe every few months.

[LisaL]

7. I don't know of any vaccine that has to be given every few months.

Even flu vaccine is once a year.
Once every few month is not a good solution, obviously.

[Drunken Irishman]

8. Obviously not but better than the alternative, unfortunately.

Of course, that's if it is affordable.

Ideally, the US would buy the vaccine and give it out for free/minimal cost, right?

[Buckeye_Democrat]

16. Vaccination might still work.

It would need to be very coordinated, though, and that's never going to happen with Trump!

Even the concept of "herd immunity" doesn't mean that EVERYONE has immunity. It just means that there's enough people immune so that the virus has fewer opportunities for new infections and replications in a host. Without new hosts, it's quashed.

[tanyev]

3. We're going to be wearing masks for long time.

Fortunately, my Hamilton masks just arrived!

[LisaL]

4. What is a Hamilton mask?

[tanyev]

6. Hamilton the musical!

[Blue_true]

9. The Broadway play that is a huge hit.

I have found that cloth masks that have nose pressers are supper comfortable and can be worn a long time in a single setting.

[Calculating]

10. So wtf are we supposed to do then?

A vaccine certainly won't work in such a case. I guess it's just the end of the world as we know it? People aren't going to just accept wearing masks for the rest of their lives. A year or so if there's light at the end of the tunnel, sure, but ultimately people need to live life again. I see why so many people are just taking their chances and hoping this virus doesn't hit them hard or leave permanent damage. There's no way we can ever go back to normal if COVID-19 is going to just become another cold with no lasting immunity or vaccine. Eventually I suppose it will just kill off everyone genetically vulnerable to it, and leave those who are resistant to it.

[lostnfound]

13. It would shorten life expectancy for all...

Genetic resistance at 40 or 50 may not persist at 70 or 80

[SunSeeker]

11. When will Sweden apologize to their people for their stupid herd immunity strategy?

[Calculating]

12. Well if we can't ever develop a vaccine everything else is just delaying the inevitable

Eventually those who are genetically vulnerable to COVID will die, and those with genetic resistance will live and carry on their genes. Same as what happened with other plagues throughout history. Social distancing and masks for the rest of our lives just isn't gonna fly with people. Covid isn't likely to be the end of humans, but it could very well be the end of the world as we know it unless we can make a vaccine.

[SunSeeker]

23. No, it's not inevitable. Mask wearing has been standard practice in Asian countries for years.

Last edited Fri Jul 10, 2020, 01:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Only Republicans would rather let people die than wear masks. They are not the majority of Americans.

[marmar]

14. But this is an important excerpt from the story:

Your immunity to the virus isn't solely tied to antibodies

There's one other reason that the findings about antibody levels dropping shouldn't cause excessive concern: Your immunity doesn't just depend on these proteins.

White blood cells also have an impressive immunological memory that can help your body identify and attack the invading virus should it ever return. T cells can destroy infected cells, and B cells work to produce new antibodies. ......

[marybourg]

18. Yes!

[Cracklin Charlie]

21. I have recently been seeing more about T-cell immunity.

This could be promising news regarding Covid immunity.

[FBaggins]

15. But millions of people have had it over the last few months

If this were generally true... wouldn’t we expect more than a handful of stories of people tasting positive a month or two after recovery?

[Tanuki]

17. Antibodies are only part of the immune response

There are some good links here about T-cells and other potential factors.

https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/07/07/more-on-t-cells-antibody-levels-and-our-ignorance

[SouthernCal_Dem]

19. Thank you!

[Thekaspervote]

20. There are a multitude of papers by experts that believe the virus overtime is and has weakened

It is of the same family that causes the common cold.

Having said that, I’m not saying don’t be careful! Or think that it’s going to magically go away anytime soon. Just reading peer reviewed literature along with the history of viral outbreaks

Here’s just one of many links

https://www.westernmassnews.com/news/could-covid-19-weaken-over-time-local-microbiologist-weighs-in/article_dffaa0ea-a9c7-11ea-936b-f3747ca78635.html

There are also studies coming out of Italy and the UK that seem to say the same thing

[LisaL]

22. I am sorry, but do you see any weaking happening here in the US?

In many states, cases are going up, hospitalizations are going up. And deaths are starting to go up too. Instead of peer-reviewed papers, I am going to believe what is actually occurring in this country, and I fail to see any signs of it weakening.