Paul Kengor at the American Spectator.
A new peer-reviewed study published in the journal Nature found that patients who have recovered from COVID develop a long-lasting “robust antigen-specific” immune response that can protect them for years. The study notes that this stands contrary to assertions made last year, which were based on insufficient information or faulty data collection. That’s not a surprise; it was early in the pandemic.
“Last fall, there were reports that antibodies waned quickly after infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, and mainstream media interpreted that to mean that immunity was not long-lived,” says Ali Ellebedy, an associate professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and senior author of the study. “But that’s a misinterpretation of the data. It’s normal for antibody levels to go down after acute infection, but they don’t go down to zero; they plateau.” He added, “Here, we found antibody-producing cells in people 11 months after the first symptoms. These cells will live and produce antibodies for the rest of people’s lives. That’s strong evidence for long-lasting immunity.”
