Thread by @DavidLat

1/ "How long might immunity to the #coronavirus last? Years, maybe even decades, according to a new study — the most hopeful answer yet to a question that has shadowed plans for widespread vaccination."

nyti.ms/2UAQztD

2/ "Eight months after infection, most people who have recovered still have enough immune cells to fend off the virus and prevent illness.... [T]hese cells may persist in the body for a very, very long time to come."

#Covid_19 #COVID19 #COVID

3/ As the article by @apoorva_nyc notes, "antibodies are just one arm of the immune system."

We also have B cells and T cells that "remember" the virus and fight it if it returns.

#Covid_19 #COVID19 #COVID

4/ On antibodies, @ProfShaneCrotty and his team found that "antibodies were durable, with modest declines at six to eight months after infection, although there was a 200-fold difference in the levels among the [study] participants."

5/ This is consistent with my own personal experience. I was sick with #COVID19 in March and still had antibodies in June, September, and October.

On a test where >1.4 is positive, I had a 4.3 in June and a 3.2 in September (no titer for the October test).

6/ Meanwhile, "T cells showed only a slight, slow decay in the body, while B cells grew in number — an unexpected finding the researchers can’t quite explain."

(Unexpected but great news, it seems to me.)

#coronavirus #Covid_19 #COVID19 #COVID

7/ My bottom line: I'm pretty sure I have #COVID19 immunity.

But I'm not taking any chances; I still don't go out much, #WearAMask when I do, and wash my hands so much that I'm going through hand cream like there's no tomorrow.

8/ Thanks to @ProfShaneCrotty & Co. for this very interesting research and encouraging news.

P.S. I'm part of a study at @NYULangone that also tracks immune responses over time in people who had #COVID19, but I don't think their research is out yet.