People with the new coronavirus are very unlikely to contract the disease again in the next six months, according to a study by the British University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals presented Friday, November 20.
Their research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, is based on a study conducted between April and November 2020 among 12,180 caregivers employed at Oxford University Hospitals.
Caregivers were regularly tested to determine if they had antibodies and if they had Covid-19.
Read also: Covid-19: researchers think they know why children are better protected
"
This still-ongoing study involving a large cohort of caregivers has shown that a Covid-19 infection offers protection against re-infection for most people for at least six months,
" one of the authors, Professor David Eyre of the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford.
"
We found no new symptomatic infections in the participants who tested positive for antibodies, while 89 of those who tested negative (for antibodies) contracted the virus,
" with symptoms, he said. precise.
"
This is very good news, because we can be sure that, at least in the short term, most people who contract Covid-19 will no longer have it
," he commented.
“
Antibody levels decline over time, but this latest study shows that there is some immunity in those who have been infected,
” he said.
A total of 1,246 caregivers tested positive for antibodies but none developed a new Covid-19 infection with symptoms.
Three caregivers with antibodies tested positive for Covid-19 but were all in good health and did not show symptoms.
By comparison, 76 employees without antibodies tested positive for the virus.
Read also: Covid-19: are the cases of reinfection worrying?
The researchers will continue their study of the caregiver cohort to see "
how long the protection lasts and whether a previous infection affects the severity of the infection if people are infected again
," said Eyre.
Another British study, carried out by Imperial College London and the Ipsos Mori Institute and published last month, showed that the immunity acquired by people recovered from the new coronavirus diminishes "
quite quickly
", especially in asymptomatic patients, and could only last a few months.
