Antiviral Antibodies Against SARS-CoV-2 Do Not Quickly Decline

Antibodies that people make to fight the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus last for at least 4-months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly as some earlier reports suggested, scientists reported in a study published in NEJM on September 1, 2020. This finding that natural antibodies don’t quickly disappear “will be encouraging those working on preventive vaccines" said these researchers.

Furthermore, this study estimated that the risk of death from coronavirus infection was just 0.3%. Although previous studies have been reporting COVID-19 disease fatality rates based on specific groups, such as hospitalized patients, the rate of death among all infected with the coronavirus has been unknown.