A study conducted by London’s Guy’s and St. Thomas’ National Health Service Foundation Trust found that patients who had contracted Covid19 saw their antibodies fade after just a few weeks.
Antibodies are the proteins produced by the human body that allow it to fight off an infection.
According to the study, 60% of patients experienced a potent antibody response 23 days after the onset of symptoms of Covid. But just 65 days later, only 16.7% of patients had this response, showing that the antibody response to Covid19 is not as strong as was previously hoped.
The study looked at 59 patients who tested positive for the disease.
Those with severe infections enjoyed longer antibody responses but even those patients saw those effects fade within just a few months.
The study calls into question the necessity of a Covid19 vaccine. Vaccines are traditionally used to trigger an antibody response. If the response does to Covid does not last, it would render the vaccination process for the disease pointless.
Of course, the opposite of that could be that health officials will try to push the notion that we will need to be vaccinated regularly – think annually – against Covid, because of the weak response.