COVID-19 ALERT! Immunity - How long does antibody induced by COVID-19 last? ANSWERED here

It has been more than a year since the world is fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, till now there are several doubts in the minds of the people regarding the disease. One of the most common questions is - how long does the antibody induced by COVID-19 last?

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

A new study has suggested that months after recovering from mild cases of COVID-19, people still possess immune cells in their body pumping out antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19 as per an ANI report. The study has also noted that such cells can last for a lifetime, churning out antibodies all the while. This study has been led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and was published in the 'Nature' journal. 

In the study, it has been suggested that mild COVID-19 cases leave those infected with lasting protection of antibody and repeated illness is unlikely to occur. Ali Ellebedy, PhD, senior author and an associate professor of pathology and immunology of medicine and molecular biology said, "Last fall, there were reports that antibodies wane quickly after infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, and mainstream media interpreted that to mean that immunity was not long-lived."  Ellebedy further explained that antibody levels go down after acute infection and that is normal , however, they do not go down to zero, instead they plateau. 

Ellebedy further informed, "Here, we found antibody-producing cells in people 11 months after first symptoms. That's strong evidence for long-lasting immunity." 

Following a viral infection, most of the antibody-producing immune cells die and there is a drop in the blood antibody level. However, a small population of these antibody-producing immune cells which are also called long-lived plasma cells migrate to the bone marrow and settle in. From there they continue to secrete ow levels of antibodies and help to fight another encounter with the virus.