New evidence Covid-19 antibodies reduce risk of reinfection

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A health worker takes a drop of blood for a Covid-19 antibody test at the Diagnostic and Wellness Center in Torrance, Calif., May 5, 2020.
A health worker takes a drop of blood for a Covid-19 antibody test at the Diagnostic and Wellness Center in Torrance, Calif., May 5, 2020. Valerie Macon / AFP / Getty Images

According to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, Covid-19 antibodies from a previous infection could significantly reduce your risk of re-infection.

“The study results are basically a 10-fold reduction, but I would have reservations about that. In other words, it could be an overestimate of the reduction, it could be an underestimate of the reduction. “said Dr. Douglas Lowy, senior deputy director of the National Cancer Institute, author of the study.

“For me, the big message is – there is a reduction,” he said. “The main thing to remember is that being positive for antibodies after natural infection is associated with partial protection against re-infection.”

How they conducted the study: Researchers looked at data on more than 3.2 million people in the United States who had taken an antibody test last year between January and August.

Of those tested, 11.6% tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies and 88.3% tested negative.

  • 0.3% of those with antibodies tested positive for Covid-19 infection later, beyond 90 days.
  • 3% of those without antibodies tested positive for re-infection during the same period.

But more research is needed to determine a causal relationship, the duration of protection against antibodies, and the risk of reinfection from a variant.

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