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Being infected with COVID-19 could protect people from infection for five months or more, according to a new UK study.
The Public Health England (PHE) SIREN study was carried out with around 20,000 healthcare professionals and found that only 44 participants out of 6,614 who carried COVID-19 antibodies during recruitment underwent ‘possible’ reinfection – which represents 83% less risk of infection compared to those without antibodies. The study was conducted between June 18 and November 24.
The antibody infection lasted about five months, on average, from the time the participants were first infected, SIREN found.
“We now know that most of those who have had the virus and have developed antibodies are protected against reinfection, but it is not total and we do not yet know how long the protection lasts. the virus is on the move, ”said Susan Hopkins, head of the SIREN study and senior medical advisor to PHE, in a statement on Wednesday.
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Only two participants had “probable” re-infections among the 6,614 participants with COVID-19 antibodies, representing a “probable” repeat infection of less than 1%, SIREN revealed. The cases were identified as “possible” or “probable” on the basis of “the amount of confirmatory evidence available”.
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Hopkins added that people who have already contracted COVID-19 can “be reassured it is highly unlikely” that they “will develop serious infections,” but re-infections can still transmit the virus to others.
Only about 30% of participants with reinfected antibodies reported symptoms compared to about 78% of those who were first infected with the virus, Hopkins explained in a press release, according to Nature.com.
Yet these results will not ring true for every person infected with COVID-19. A study published in August, for example, shows an example of a Nevada man who exhibited severe symptoms of COVID-19 after being re-infected with the virus.
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Researchers in Nevada have found that a person’s initial exposure to COVID-19 “may not result in a level of immunity that is 100% protective for all individuals.” The researchers also noted in the introduction that with other forms of coronavirus, immunity can be lost within one to three years.
“Now more than ever, it is vital that we all stay at home to protect our health care service and save lives,” Hopkins said in her statement on Wednesday.
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SIREN researchers will continue to study participants over the next year to see how long immunity to COVID-19 lasts in people who have already been infected with the virus.
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