Hospital staff caring for Covid-19 patients.

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L.Venance / AFP

This is a study that could give valuable insight into the immunity of people who have contracted Covid-19.

Researchers from Public Health England revealed on Thursday that caregivers who have already had the disease are overwhelmingly protected from re-infection for at least five months.

The results unveiled by scientists from the British public health agency have not yet been reviewed by their peers but have already been welcomed by independent experts.

In total, the researchers recruited nearly 20,800 caregivers to carry out their observations.

We've published the first results of our SIREN study looking at reinfection rates of # COVID19.



We regularly tested over 20,000 healthcare workers for COVID-19 infection & antibodies to see if people who've had the virus before are likely to get it again.https: //t.co/VMFBV7skwF

- Public Health England (@PHE_uk) January 14, 2021

83% protected

Volunteer health workers were tested regularly between June and November.

Some were even part of the frontline staff to care for patients with the coronavirus in hospitals.

Of the 6,614 caregivers who tested positive for the coronavirus, only 44 were said to have been reinfected with the virus when they already had antibodies during a period of five months.

Compared to those who had not yet been exposed to Sars-CoV-2, this represents 83% protection.

Transmission always possible

The antibodies would therefore mostly prevent caregivers from being re-infected.

"This protection is not total and we do not yet know how long it lasts", nuance the main author of the study.

According to preliminary data collected by the researchers, protected persons could still transmit the virus.

The researchers' conclusions are nevertheless encouraging.

They suggest that the rates of protection conferred by a natural infection "are comparable to those of vaccines against Covid-19", decrypts Julian Tang, honorary professor of virology at the University of Leicester.

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