Australian scientists have determined the true duration of immunity in people who have recovered from COVID-19, which is at least eight months. This proves that vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus will be effective for a long time after injection. This is reported in an article published in the journal Science Immunology.
The study involved 25 people with COVID-19, who had blood samples taken from the 4th to 242 days after infection. Although the number of antibodies against the virus began to decline 20 days after the onset of infection, it turned out that immune B cells “remember” the virus and, when reinfected, activate a protective immune response due to the rapid production of antibodies.
B cells are able to recognize two components of the virus – the S protein on the surface of the virus and the nucleocapsid protein inside the virus, forming complexes with RNA.
Despite reports of repeated infections, their share of all cases of transmission of the virus remains very small.