(Newer)
– Most people who contracted COVID-19 are immune to the virus for at least five months and have a low risk of contracting it again, according to new research. Public Health England, which analyzed the results of coronavirus and antibody tests conducted by nearly 21,000 health professionals from June to November, found that previous infection resulted in an 83% lower risk of contracting COVID-19 compared to those who did not have coronavirus antibodies , suggesting they were never infected. Two “probable” infections and 42 “possible” infections occurred in 6,614 workers with antibodies during the study period, while 318 likely cases occurred in the remaining workers without antibodies. If you become infected again, “you are highly unlikely to develop serious infections,” author Susan Hopkins told the BBC. However, there is still a risk of the virus being passed on to others.
In some cases, health workers were reinfected with high levels of the virus but did not experience any symptoms. Researchers will follow these health professionals for another year to get a more complete picture of naturally acquired immunity. But for now, it seems “ to take at least 5 months from when they first got sick, ” the study – which has not been peer-reviewed, per CNN – means that “ people who contracted the disease in the first wave are vulnerable to catch it again. Therefore, “it is now more vital than ever that we all stay at home to protect our health care system and save lives,” Hopkins said. Indeed, the study shows that “the vast majority of the population will either need natural immunity. or should have been immunized to completely remove the restrictions on our lives, ” Simon Clarke, an associate professor of cellular microbiology at Reading University, told Reuters. (Read more stories about the coronavirus.)