"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-10-20T11:32:56Z"
data-video-section="world"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/10/20/china-covid-protest-new-york-selina-wang-pkg-ovn-intl-contd-ldn-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="china covid protest new york selina wang pkg ovn intl contd ldn vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="china covid protest new york selina wang pkg ovn intl contd ldn vpx"
data-video-tags="arts and entertainment,asia,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,chemical industry and chemicals,chemicals and environment,china,communicable disease control,continents and regions,diseases and disorders,east asia,environment and natural resources,epidemics and outbreaks,graffiti art,health and medical,infectious diseases,isolation and quarantine,public health,toxic and hazardous substances,visual arts,coronavirus,life forms,microscopic life,respiratory diseases,viruses,international relations,international relations and national security"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Artist wears 27 hazmat suits to protest China's policies
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-10-03T04:07:55Z"
data-video-section="travel"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/travel/2022/10/01/hong-kong-attempts-to-revitalize-tourism-reopening-lu-stout-pkg-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="hong kong attempts to revitalize tourism reopening lu stout pkg vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="hong kong attempts to revitalize tourism reopening lu stout pkg vpx"
data-video-tags="asia,china,continents and regions,coronavirus,coronavirus pandemic,diseases and disorders,east asia,epidemics and outbreaks,health and medical,hong kong,infectious diseases,kristie lu stout,life forms,microscopic life,misc people,public health,respiratory diseases,taiwan,tourism,travel and tourism,viruses"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
See how Hong Kong is trying to revitalize itself after Covid-19
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-09-20T19:06:18Z"
data-video-section="business"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2022/09/20/late-night-reaction-joe-biden-pandemic-is-over-orig-ht.cnn-business"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="late night reaction Joe Biden pandemic is over orig ht"
data-first-publish-slug="late night reaction Joe Biden pandemic is over orig ht"
data-video-tags=""
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
See late night reactions to President Biden claiming pandemic over
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-09-05T13:32:45Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2022/09/05/long-covid-brain-fog-video-game-treatment-gupta-pkg-newday-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="long covid brain fog video game treatment gupta pkg newday vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="long covid brain fog video game treatment gupta pkg newday vpx"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,computer science and information technology,experimentation and research,human subjects,misc people,sanjay gupta,science,software and applications,technology,video games"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Dr. Gupta: This treatment for 'brain fog' from long-Covid just might surprise you
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-07-27T14:01:41Z"
data-video-section="world"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/07/27/covid-origins-wuhan-market-live-jiang-newday-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="covid origins wuhan market live jiang newday intl ldn vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="covid origins wuhan market live jiang newday intl ldn vpx"
data-video-tags="asia,beijing,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,central china,china,computer chips,computer equipment,computer science and information technology,consumer products,continents and regions,coronavirus,diseases and disorders,east asia,experimentation and research,farmers markets,food and drink,food products,health and medical,hubei province,infectious diseases,kinds of foods and beverages,life forms,memory technology,microscopic life,respiratory diseases,retail and wholesale trade,science,seafood,street markets and traders,technology,viruses,wuhan"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
New studies suggest Covid-19 likely originated from Wuhan wet market
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-07-21T15:19:38Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/07/21/jill-biden-sot-joe-biden-positive-coronavirus-nr-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="jill biden sot joe biden positive coronavirus nr vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="jill biden sot joe biden positive coronavirus nr vpx"
data-video-tags=""
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Jill Biden speaks out after President Biden contracts Covid-19
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-07-15T12:31:33Z"
data-video-section="business"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/07/15/china-economy-covid-wang-henan-bank-pkg-intl-hnk-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="China economy covid wang henan bank pkg intl hnk vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="China economy covid wang henan bank pkg intl hnk vpx"
data-video-tags="asia,banking, finance and investments,beijing,business, economy and trade,china,continents and regions,coronavirus,diseases and disorders,east asia,economic migration,economic policy,economy and economic indicators,employment and income status,epidemics and outbreaks,globalization,government and public administration,government bodies and offices,health and medical,immigration,immigration, citizenship and displacement,infectious diseases,international relations and national security,labor and employment,labor sector performance,life forms,local governments,microscopic life,migrant workers,personal finance,politics,public debt,public finance,public health,respiratory diseases,social and economic status,society,trade and development,viruses,unemployment,workers and professionals,demographic groups,families and children,males (demographic group),parents and parenting,population and demographics,economic conditions,economic crisis,economic decline"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
'I'm losing my mind': Chinese depositor loses life savings in bank
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-07-13T12:50:23Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2022/07/13/dr-anthony-fauci-coronavirus-new-variant-immunity-sot-newday-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="dr anthony fauci coronavirus new variant immunity sot newday vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="dr anthony fauci coronavirus new variant immunity sot newday vpx"
data-video-tags="anthony fauci,diseases and disorders,health and medical,infectious diseases,life forms,microscopic life,misc people,viruses"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Dr. Fauci explains why new BA.5 subvariant is concerning
Immunity to Covid-19 infection lingers for at least five months, researchers reported – and probably longer than that.
While the report may seem confusing and contradictory to a similar report out of Britain this week, it really isn’t. There is more than one wave of infection control in the human body.
People’s bodies produce an army of immune compounds in response to an infection and some are overwhelming at first, dying off quickly, while others build up more slowly. Measurements that show a waning antibody response in the first months after infection might be measuring this first wave – but there’s a second team building its forces in the background.
The new report out Wednesday shows 90% of people who recover from Covid-19 infections keep a stable overall antibody response.
“While some reports have come out saying antibodies to this virus go away quickly, we have found just the opposite – that more than 90% of people who were mildly or moderately ill produce an antibody response strong enough to neutralize the virus, and the response is maintained for many months,” Florian Krammer, a professor of vaccinology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who led the study team, said in a statement.
“This is essential for effective vaccine development.”
The team looked at the antibody responses of more than 30,000 people who tested positive for Covid-19 at Mount Sinai’s Health System between March and October. They characterized their antibody responses as low, moderate or high. More than 90% had moderate to high levels, or titers, of antibodies to the spike protein of the virus – the structure it uses to grapple the cells it infects.
They then closely studied 121 patients who recovered and donated their plasma – once three months after they first developed symptoms, and again five months later.
They did see a drop-off in some antibodies. But others persisted, they reported in the journal Science.
“The serum antibody titer we measured in individuals initially were likely produced by plasmablasts, cells that act as first responders to an invading virus and come together to produce initial bouts of antibodies whose strength soon wanes,” said Dr. Ania Wajnberg, director of Clinical Antibody Testing at the Mount Sinai Hospital.
“The sustained antibody levels that we subsequently observed are likely produced by long-lived plasma cells in the bone marrow. This is similar to what we see in other viruses and likely means they are here to stay. We will continue to follow this group over time to see if these levels remain stable as we suspect and hope they will.”
Antibodies are not the only protection the immune system musters against infection, but they are an important first line of defense.
“Although this cannot provide conclusive evidence that these antibody responses protect from reinfection, we believe it is very likely that they will decrease the odds ratio of reinfection,” the team wrote.
Covid-19 has only been around for a little under a year, so scientists are still learning about it. Stories of people becoming infected more than once are mostly anecdotal, and few and far between.
There’s obvious concern about this. It would be far better for getting rid of the pandemic if people developed permanent immunity to the virus after an infection. And, of course, immunity would be vital for a vaccine to work well.
It happens with other viruses. Measles is an example. One bout of measles usually leaves someone immune for life – an effect known as sterilizing immunity. The same was true for smallpox, before that virus was eradicated in the 1970s by a global vaccination campaign. And proper vaccination against measles and smallpox completely protects against infection.
But respiratory viruses such as influenza are trickier. People can catch flu over and over again and flu vaccines generally provide only partial protection against infection and severe disease. Part of that’s due to flu’s tendency to mutate.
Coronaviruses seem to fall in between. They can cause the common cold, but because they are not usually deadly, they are not as well studied. Until Covid-19’s deadly cousin SARS came along, there was little interest in coronaviruses.
Still, there is evidence that people can and do develop some immunity to coronaviruses.
“We know from work with common human coronaviruses that neutralizing antibodies are induced, and these antibodies can last for years and provide protection from reinfection or attenuate disease, even if individuals get reinfected,” Wajnberg and colleagues wrote.
“It is still unclear if infection with SARS-CoV-2 in humans protects from reinfection and for how long.”
The next important step, they said, will be to establish what are known as correlates of protection. These are compounds that can be measured in the blood that will tell doctors whether someone is immune – so that it won’t be necessary to wait and see if they get infected again after one bout, or after getting a vaccine.