Antibodies persist for more than a year after COVID-19 infection, study finds

The immune system of the vast majority of people infected with the CCP virus will continue to carry antibodies against the virus for at least 12 months, according to a peer-reviewed study accepted by the European Journal of Immunology on September 24.

Scientists at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare studied the presence of antibodies in 1,292 subjects eight months after infection. They found that 96% of subjects still carried neutralizing antibodies and 66% still carried a type of antibody called nucleoprotein IgG.

Scientists then studied antibody levels one year after infection by randomly selecting 367 subjects from the original cohort who had not yet been vaccinated. Eighty-nine percent of the subjects still carried neutralizing antibodies and 36 percent still carried IgG antibodies.

Antibody levels were higher in subjects who had suffered from severe COVID-19 disease. Compared to those with mild illness, these subjects had two to seven times more antibodies for at least 13 months after infection.

“Studies of people who have recovered from [CCP virus] infection is crucial in determining how long antibodies persist after infection and whether these antibodies protect against reinfection, ”the scientists wrote (pdf).

Despite lasting protection against the original strain of CCP virus, the study found that the neutralizing efficacy against the Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants decreased over time. The reduction in efficiency was “significantly reduced” for the Beta variant and was “only slightly reduced” compared to the Alpha variant. For the Delta variant, which is the dominant strain in the United States, the study found that 80 percent of subjects still had immune protection 12 months after infection.

A study published in Nature Medicine in May found that the levels of neutralizing antibodies in a person are highly predictive of immune protection against serious infections and illnesses caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the new coronavirus. Previous studies have shown that the antibodies persist for six to 12 months after infection.

Despite the robust and long-lasting protection after infection, the CCP virus vaccine mandates in the United States do not offer any exemption based on acquired immunity. An Epoch Times review of immunization warrants for U.S. colleges and universities did not find a single school offering exemptions to students who had acquired immunity. Recent mandates imposed at the state and federal levels have also ignored acquired immunity.