COVID-19 Immunity Longevity Questioned

UK: Studies show, as reported by BBC News, immunity to COVID-19 is temporary. Latest research shows catching the Coronavirus might not be a one and done circumstance.

The common belief one cannot catch COVID-19 after recovering from it is rendered erroneous. Reinfection, with initial infections not becoming dormant, is a possibility.

"Immunity is waning quite rapidly," Imperial College Professor Helen Ward said. "We're only three months after our first [COVID-19 related tests] and we're already showing a 26% decline in antibodies."

Researchers at Imperial College London, after randomly sending out more than 365,000 to Britons, have found results show more than 26 per cent decrease in Coronavirus-19 antibodies in three months: between June and September. Antibodies, after infection, rapidly fall.

The study, published by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI on Monday, 26 October 2020, leaves no room for complacency. Ipsos MORI, a London based market research company, frequently collaborates with the academic institution on such impactful studies.

An antibody, also referenced in science related publications as immunoglobulin, is a significant part of immune defences. Antibody production is the main function of the humoral immune system.

"We can see the antibodies and we can see them declining and we know antibodies on their own are quite protective," Professor Wendy Barclay said. "On the balance of evidence, I would say it would look as if immunity declines away at the same rate as antibodies decline away, and that this is an indication of waning immunity."

Antibodies stop COVID-19 from penetrating the body's cells. Each antibody, with a lock and key fashion interaction, binds to a specific antigen.

Thus far, during an ongoing REACT-2 study, no fewer than 350,000 Britons taken the antibody test. Results in September, compared with June going into July, shows there is no room for complacency. Immunity to COVID-19 is temporary.

"The vaccine response," REACT-2 study Director Professor Paul Elliott said, "may behave differently to the response to natural infection."

UK COVID-19 related deaths, by the week ending Friday, 16 October 2020, saw a 60 per cent rise. The significance of these findings, especially for individuals aged at least 65, is readily apparent.

The elderly, compared with younger persons, are at greater risk of contracting a second COVID-19 bout. There are, however, very few cases reported where people have contracted COVID-19 a second time. Complacency, despite the irregularity of such an occurrence, is not advised.

"Our findings,” University of Nevada’s Dr Mark Pandori said, “signal that a previous infection may not necessarily protect against future infection.”

The 74-year-old American President Donald J. Trump, having recently recovered from a bout of COVID-19, falls squarely in the elderly age bracket. Trump’s boastfulness, as seen at one of his rallies, is likely premature.

Whilst the world has previously faced significant virus threats, noting how COVID-19 is initially able to fool the body into a state of normalcy, Coronavirus could be present in our bodies and we would not be aware. The newness of this latest pandemic is problematic because it differs greatly from previous viruses.

"This is a new one,” University of Manchester Professor Tracy Hussell said, “so we don't think there's much prior immunity there."

Hussell, a professor of inflammatory disease, is the director of the university’s Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research. Her concerns are echoed by other academics and researchers.

"This virus is brilliant," University of Cambridge Professor Paul J. Lehner said. it allows you to have a viral factory in your nose and feel completely well."

Lehner, a Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Fellow in the university's Department of Medicine, is a virologist that researches the "use of genome wide CRISPR genetic approaches to identify novel genes and intracellular pathways involved in virus."