Large antibody study offers hope for virus vaccine efforts

covid-19

(AP)- Scientists are reporting that the antibodies people make to fight the new coronavirus do not fade quickly. The new study is the most extensive work yet on the immune system’s response to the virus and is good news for efforts to develop vaccines. The report was published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. It was based on tests on more than 30,000 people in Iceland. It found antibodies lasted for at least four months after diagnosis. Independent experts say if a vaccine can spur production of long-lasting antibodies like that, it gives hope that immunity may not be fleeting as some smaller studies previously suggested.