A new study offers a glimmer of hope in the grim fight against the coronavirus: Nearly everyone who has had the disease — regardless of age, sex or severity of illness — makes antibodies to the virus.
The study, posted online on Tuesday but not yet reviewed by experts, also hints that anyone who has recovered from infection may safely return to work — although it is unclear how long their protection might last.
“This is very good news,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University in New York who was not involved with the work.
Health officials in several countries, including the United States, have hung their hopes on tests that identify coronavirus antibodies to decide who is immune and can go back to work. People who are immune could replace vulnerable individuals, especially in high-transmission settings like hospitals, building what researchers call “shield immunity” in the population.
“It really shows that most people do develop antibodies, and that there’s very good correlation between those antibodies and their capability to neutralize virus,” Dr. Rasmussen said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/health/coronavirus-antibody-prevalence.html
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