Nov. 13, 2020 — The virus that causes COVID-19 is not the same strain as what first emerged from China. A new study shows it has changed slightly in a way that makes it more contagious to humans. Compared to the original strain, people infected with the new strain — called 614G — have … Read more
By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, Nov. 6, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Certain COVID-19 patients not only recover faster from the coronavirus, but their bodies also show longer-lasting immunity, according to a new study. “We’ve found a subset of individuals that heal quickly while sustaining virus-specific antibody levels after COVID-19,” said … Read more
A study of 365,000 people in England found evidence that coronavirus antibodies decline over a 3-month period. The participants did three rounds of finger-prick tests at home between June 20 and Sept. 28, according to a news release from the Imperial College London. Rather than building up immunity, the number of people with antibodies … Read more
Joel Ernst, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the division of experimental medicine, UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco. Santosha Vardhana, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and attending physician, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Nicolas Vabret, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. Medline … Read more
William Schaffner, MD, Vanderbilt University. The Lancet: “Herd immunity approaches to COVID-19 control are a ‘dangerous fallacy’, say authors of open letter.” The New York Times: ” White House embraces a declaration from scientists that opposes lockdowns and relies on ‘herd immunity.’” Joshua Michaud, PhD, associate director, Global Health Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation. Great … Read more
An international group of 80 researchers in an open letter have warned that managing coronavirus by allowing herd immunity to develop in low-risk populations while protecting the most vulnerable is “a dangerous fallacy unsupported by the scientific evidence”. What does the study say According to news agency PTI, the letter has been published in The … Read more
After studying antibody samples collected from 6,000 people infected with coronavirus, researchers in the United States have concluded that immunity against Covid-19 lasts for at least five months. The research led by Indian-origin Deepta Bhattacharya, associate professor at University of Arizona, has concluded that the antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 virus last for around five months in … Read more
By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, Oct. 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) — After a serious case of COVID-19 you may have long-lasting immunity, a new study finds. The finding is reassuring to patients because the immune system makes antibodies in response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the researchers said. … Read more
By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Oct. 5, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The common cold can make you miserable, but it might also help protect you against COVID-19, a new study suggests. The researchers added that people who’ve had COVID-19 may be immune to it for a long time, possibly even the rest … Read more
New study shows coronavirus mutating rapidly Also on Wednesday, a new study of more than 5,000 genetic sequences of the coronavirus reveals the virus’s continual accumulation of mutations, one of which may have made it more contagious, the Washington Post reported. But researchers did not find that these mutations have made the … Read more