Coronavirus induces strong and long-lasting cellular immunity after infection, new research shows, suggesting people are unlikely to quickly catch the disease again and increasing the chances vaccines will be effective.
“Our study is the first in the world to show robust cellular immunity remains at six months after infection in individuals who experienced either mild/moderate or asymptomatic Covid-19,” said Professor Paul Moss of the University of Birmingham. Prof Moss heads the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium that studied 100 UK healthcare workers who were infected early in the Covid-19 pandemic.
The findings, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, are an encouraging sign for the development of vaccines that aim to induce immunity without causing disease, the researchers said. They also suggest that few people will be reinfected with the Sars-Cov-2 virus responsible for Covid-19 soon after suffering a first infection.