The journal Nature Communications published a study on Friday that claims the level of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 stays stable, or even increases, as long as seven months into infection. Researchers also say that antibodies against the common-cold can also protect from COVID-19. The objective of the study, say researchers, is to better understand the kind of immunity that develops after this infection so as to have a grasp over the pandemic’s evolution.
The researchers studied blood samples from 578 participants, taken four points between March and October 2020. The results show that the majority of infections among their sample group happened during the first wave of the pandemic.
“Rather surprisingly, we even saw an increase of IgG anti-spike antibodies in 75 per cent of the participants from month five onwards, without any evidence of re-exposure to the virus,” said Gemma Moncunill, senior co-author of the study.