COVID-19 infection could offer some level of natural immunity for up to 20 months in the unvaccinated

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-02-04 10:00

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US researchers have found evidence of some level of natural immunity in unvaccinated people up to 20 months after COVID-19 infection. The researchers looked for antibodies against the part of the virus that binds to the receptor in human cells and found that people with a confirmed COVID-19 infection who were unvaccinated still had these antibodies as much as 20 months after getting the virus. However, they did not assess whether these antibodies were able to actually neutralise the virus - so they can't say if people remain protected against further infection for this long, particularly when it comes to emerging variants.