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Almost all COVID-19 patients develop antibodies - study
Scientists warn that the presence of antibodies in the blood does not mean the development of immunity, but they have the ability to neutralize the virus.
Antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can be developed in almost everyone who has had COVID-19. This is evidenced by the results of the largest study of antibodies in the blood of those who have recovered to date. A team led by virologist Florian Krammer of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York has published it on the MedRxiv preprint site. The work has not yet been reviewed by experts, but has already been accepted with great optimism by the scientific community.
"This is very good news," said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University.
In the study, scientists note that antibodies are produced regardless of age, gender, or the severity of the disease. Although their presence does not indicate the emergence of immunity, antibodies are closely related to the ability to neutralize the virus. In order to accurately determine their presence, it is necessary at least three weeks after the first symptoms of the disease appear.
In this study, doctors from Mount Sinai did antibody tests to people who had recovered from COVID-19 who agreed to donate plasma to treat critically ill patients with coronavirus infection. At the moment, the project involves 15,000 people who have had a mild to moderate form of infection. The study included data from the first flow of donors.
Scientists have twice tested 624 people previously infected with coronavirus. The first test showed the presence of antibodies in 511 people, and the second, carried out a little over a week later, showed that the remaining 113 people from the group of subjects also developed antibodies in significant quantities. Therefore, the researchers believe, the presence of antibodies depends on the timing of the test. Based on the findings, it takes at least three weeks from the onset of symptoms to develop antibodies.