COVID-19 infection gives 'natural immunity' to patients for five months: Study

People who have had COVID-19 are highly likely to have immunity against it for at least five months, a recent study conducted on British health workers concluded. However, it warned that all those infected may still be able to carry and spread the infection. The study conducted by scientists from Public Health England (PHE) comes as the number of infections across the British territory rose to 3,220,953 with over 84,910 deaths.

"PHE’s ‘SIREN’ (SARS-CoV-2 Immunity & REinfection EvaluatioN) study has studied volunteer health workers from across the NHS in order to establish the extent and duration of protection conveyed by naturally-acquired immunity as a result of COVID-19 infection," researchers described the study in a statement. 

The study

For the purpose of the SIREN study, the team of scientists regularly tested thousands of healthcare workers across England for re-infection as well as the presence of antibodies. Between June 18 and November 24 2020, they found that only 44 people out of the 6614 participants tested positive.  “This represents an 83% rate of protection from reinfection”, the team concluded.

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In the aftermath, however, the researchers have cautioned that all those infected in the first wave are susceptible to infections now, as the five-month period had already passed. In addendum, they also said that people with so-called “natural immunity" might still be able to carry the lethal virus and unwittingly spread it further.

"This means even if you believe you already had the disease and are protected, you can be reassured it is highly unlikely you will develop severe infections. But there is still a risk you could acquire an infection and transmit (it) to others."

The researchers now plan on continuing to test the healthcare workers to see if their “natural” immunity, acquired by getting the infection, continue beyond the period of five months. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the novel coronavirus mutation first discovered in the UK has now spread to at least 50 countries. "The more the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads, the more opportunities it has to change. High levels of transmission mean that we should expect more variants to emerge," said the WHO.

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Image: AP