Study Finds COVID-19 Antibodies May Wane Months After Recovery, Raising Vaccine Concerns

Dr. Stephen Griffin, associate professor at the University of Leeds School of Medicine, stressed that "this work confirms that protective antibody responses in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals appear to decline rapidly." He pointed out that the vaccines under development will either "generate stronger and more durable protection compared to natural infections" or be "administered regularly."

As for Dr. Katie Doores, the lead author of the study, she stated that "if the infection gives you antibody levels that drop in two to three months, the vaccine will potentially do the same thing" and "a single injection may not be enough."

The study looked at the immune response of more than 90 confirmed cases (including 65 by virological tests) and "shows that neutralizing antibody levels, capable of destroying the virus, peak on average about three weeks after the onset of symptoms, then decline rapidly."

According to the study results, "only 16.7% of subjects still had high levels of neutralizing antibodies 65 days after the onset of symptoms." Conclusions that corroborate those recently revealed by "studies conducted by scientists in Munich and China that have reached similar conclusions."