Even People With Antibodies Can Spread the Virus

A preliminary study on COVID offers two important takeaways: First, most of those who get the infection appear to be immune for at least five months afterward. And second, even those with antibodies might be able to spread the infection to others. The results come from a study of 21,000 health care workers in the UK, reports CNN. One caveat: The study has not yet been peer-reviewed. In regard to immunity, the study found that people who tested positive for COVID had an 83% lower risk of catching it again within five months. That's in the ballpark of the effectiveness rate of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines (94%-95%) now being doled out, notes Forbes. However, researchers can't say for sure how long beyond five months that immunity protection lasts. The troubling part of the results involved the capacity of people with antibodies to further spread the virus.

"We found people with very high amounts of virus in their nose and throat swabs, that would easily be in the range which would cause levels of transmission to other individuals," says Susan Hopkins of Public Health England and co-leader of the study. The upshot is that researchers say everybody, including those with antibodies, should continue to take the usual precautions with masks and social distancing, per Reuters. "These data reinforce the message that, for the time being, everyone is a potential source of infection for others and should behave accordingly,” says Eleanor Riley of Edinburgh University, who was not involved with the study. In terms of raw numbers, of the 21,000 people in the study, 6,614 tested positive for antibodies. Of that latter group, 44 possible reinfections were discovered. (Double-masks may be even better.)