Study Finds Immunity To Coronavirus Fleeting, Meaning People Can Get It Repeatedly

A British study indicated Monday immunity to COVID-19 disappears within months, making it unlikely an effective one-time vaccine can be developed or herd immunity develop, leaving people vulnerable to reinfection, much like reinfection from the common cold or flu.

The study by Guy’s and St. Thomas National Health Service foundation trust found antibody response dwindled from 60% at the height of infection to just 17% within three months – and in some cases became undetectable.

“People are producing a reasonable antibody response to the virus, but it’s waning over a short period of time and depending on how high your peak is, that determines how long the antibodies are staying around,” lead author Katie Doores of King’s College London told the Guardian.

She continued: “Infection tends to give you the best-case scenario for an antibody response, so if your infection is giving you antibody levels that wane in two to three months, the vaccine will potentially do the same thing. People may need boosting and one shot might not be sufficient.”

Some 150 vaccines currently are in development worldwide with four already in human trials.

The King’s College study involved 65 patients and six healthcare workers, along with 31 others who volunteered to be monitored regularly. The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, was conducted from March through June. It was the first to monitor antibody levels in patients and hospital workers for three months.

The coronavirus strains that have been wreaking havoc around the world are similar to four that cause the common cold.

Study co-author Stuart Neil noted people can get infected fairly often from the common cold variety of coronavirus.

“What that must mean is that the protective immunity people generate doesn’t last very long. It looks like Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, might be falling into that pattern as well,” he told the Guardian.

Worldwide, nearly 13 million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been recorded and more than 570,000 victims of COVID-19 had died by late morning Monday.