—
Students wear masks in Rotterdam. Concerns were previously raised about how effective or long lasting coronavirus antibodies may be. (Getty Images)
‘Very good news for vaccine development’
The results have been published preliminarily at Medrix online, not in a peer-reviewed journal. Nevertheless, experts are enthused by the research.
“This is a very significant finding,” said Professor John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
“It suggests neutralising antibodies can protect against infection. This has not been previously demonstrated in humans.
“The numbers are small and we don’t know how long any protection might last, so some caution needs to be applied.
Read more: Chronic fatigue emerging as coronavirus complication
“However, if these results are confirmed and backed up by similar studies, then it opens up the possibility of allowing people who have neutralising antibodies to start to return to normality with some degree of safety.
“It is also very good news for vaccine development as if a vaccine induces neutralising antibodies then it implies that it might be protective.”
Professor Danny Altmann, from Imperial College London, agreed and described the research as a “remarkable, real-life, human experiment”.
“In short, it’s good news,” he added. “Who knew immunology research on fishing boats could be so informative?”
Professor Jonathan Ball, from the University of Nottingham, called the study “really interesting”, but stressed further investigation is required.
“This gives us important insight into the type of immunity that might protect from future infection,” he said.
“What it doesn’t tell use is whether or not past exposure can protect against serious disease in those people lacking detectable neutralising antibodies. Both are relevant to vaccine design.”
This is not the first time hopes of an immune response have been raised amid the pandemic.
In July, scientists from the University of Oxford found their vaccine induced “strong antibody and T-cell immune responses up to day 56 of the ongoing trial”.
T-cells are another aspect of the immune system.
Helper T-cells stimulate antibody production and assist in the development of killer cells, which directly destroy body cells that have already been infected by a pathogen.
T-cells also send out messages that instruct the rest of the immune system to ramp up its response.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, lead researcher of Oxford’s vaccine development programme, previously said antibodies and T-cells “work together and are completely complementary”.
Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Lifestyle
–
Related