Some promising news for scientists working on developing a COVID-19 vaccine.
A new study done on some 30,000 people in Iceland shows that antibodies that people produce to fight the virus last longer than previously thought, a finding that gives hope for immunity.
“I’m so grateful to be alive,” said COVID-19 patient Rico Ramirez.
He is part of the UCSF study where scientists are examining blood from COVID patients.
Ramirez contracted the virus in march spending 10 days in the hospital, four of them in ICU. Scientists are looking closely at his antibodies lifespan.
“I was a 48%, now they are at 30% in three months,” Ramirez said. “They’ve gone down quite a bit. They last but they don’t last very long.”
A new study out of Iceland, one of the largest of its kind, is giving different results.
Local
“The difference with the study that was announced today is it went on for quite a long time so you can look to see whether or not there was a group of antibodies that came up which was the case,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong from UCSF.
Those antibodies lasted for four months, a breakthrough that exceeded similar studies.
“When you stimulate the body for this particular virus, the antibodies last longer than we thought they would, meaning, if there was a vaccine, you wouldn’t have to get a vaccine or booster a bunch of different times,” Chin-Hong said.
The Iceland study is far from over and Ramirez’s study is continuing as well.
He hopes all the studies will help people sick with COVID-19.
“I just want to help people as much as I can,” he said.
