In 9 months, the University of Padua from Italy and Imperial College London was able to test over 85 percent of Vo, Italy's population, for active COVID-19 antibodies. The 3,000 residents of the Italian town became strong evidence of the presence of antibodies against COVID-19, regardless of whether an individual experiences symptoms or not.
Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic in Vo, Italy
Vo is a town in Italy that had the most rate of the population infected with COVID-19. Over 80 percent of the town had been recorded positive with the virus right after the beginning of the pandemic. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, entitled "SARS-CoV-2 antibody dynamics and transmission from community-wide serological testing in the Italian municipality of Vo'," shows that antibodies on the affected residents have been active from February to November of 2020.
The antibodies, based on the study, had their levels declined throughout the 9 months specified. However, the levels of these immune cells proven to combat COVID-19 are not different between people who had symptoms and those who were asymptomatic.
Imperial College London's MRC Center for Global Infectious Disease Analysis expert and the co-author of the study Ilaria Dorigatti said that they had found no evidence in the difference between the levels of COVID-19 antibodies from individuals that had symptoms and the group that did not.
The research on COVID-19 antibody presented the results from the blood samples observed through the help of 85 percent of the citizens in Vo. The antibodies were examined through the neutralization assay technique, which determined the types of immune cells reacting to the SARS-CoV-2. The rate of the decay in the antibodies depends on the assay utilized on the examination, and with this, some of the antibody types showed a decline in their rates between ay and November, reports UPI.
The examination also found that the antibody levels in some subjects increased throughout the 9-month observation. Based on the study, this could be potential evidence of reinfection. The rise in antibody levels is a normal reaction of the immune system whenever more protection for the body is needed, and this process is exhibited by our bodies not only with COVID-19 but with other diseases as well.
COVID-19 Reinfection vs. 9-Month Antibodies and Immunity from Vaccine
COVID-19 reinfection is a risk that can happen to anyone infected with the virus before, but a study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, entitled "Association of SARS-CoV-2 Seropositive Antibody Test With Risk of Future Infection" confirms that the patients who recovered from the coronavirus are protected within 3 months from reinfection.
In addition, research from the journal Nature, entitled "SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines induce persistent human germinal centre responses," indicates that the immunity provided by COVID-19 vaccines such as the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech variants could last for years.
Dorigatti emphasized that the pandemic is not over yet, even in Italy or other countries. The most essential move right now is to implement the 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and improve the surveillance of the affected through contact tracing.
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