Research that said that the corona virus antibodies generated by the immune system to fight the emerging corona virus, may only last for a few months, have shocked some, but the disappearance of these bodies does not necessarily mean that the immunity has completely disappeared or that it will not be possible to develop an effective vaccine.
"Infection with this virus does not necessarily generate lifelong immunity, but antibodies are only part of the story," said Buddy Kritch, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
Kritch did not contribute to the new research, the results of which were published Tuesday in the newspaper "New England of Medicine", issued by the American Medical Association Massachusetts.
He added that the immune system can remember how to make new antibodies if necessary, and other parts of it can launch an attack.
When the body is exposed to an external danger, such as infection with a virus, the immune system generates cells that monitor and eliminate these viruses. For this, the body produces proteins that carry specially designed antibodies to target those antigens.
A doctor named Otto Yang and others at the University of California measured the number of antibodies in 30 people with coronaviruses, whose average age was 43 and most of them had mild symptoms.
Researchers at the University of California found that half of the antibodies disappear 36 days after infection with the virus, and they pointed out that these results "call for caution in issuing immunity passports against the virus, talking about herd immunity, and possibly even the sobriety of upcoming vaccines."
Kretsch agreed with this data, but pointed out that other parts of the immune system also help provide protection, by producing antibodies, and developing memory that can know how to protect the body from the virus again if necessary.
"Vaccines, which stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies, may provide longer-term protection from natural infections, because they use pure copies which stimulate this response," says Alison Chris, University of Virginia immunologist.