Study: Kids who got COVID-19 have natural antibodies that last about 7 months

By Joe Morgan via SWNS

Children who get COVID-19 have natural antibodies that last for about seven months, according to a new study.

But vaccines are still vital in children over 12 in order for them to get the best protection from the virus, researchers have found.

New findings have also found that antibodies last the same amount of time in children whether they were asymptomatic or it was severe.

It also does not matter whether they are at a healthy weight or obese and there is also no difference by gender.

In the study, 218 children between the ages of five and 19 were enrolled in the Texas CARES study which assessed antibody status over time.

Volunteers provided researchers with three separate blood draws, once during the vaccine rollout and again during the Delta and Omicron variants.

The study found 96 percent of those infected with COVID-19 continued to have antibodies up to seven months later, over half (58 percent) were negative for infection-induced antibodies at their third and final measurement.

To date, 14 million kids in the US have tested positive for the virus, she said.

And in the UK, around one in 100 primary school age pupils meet the criteria for long COVID.

Professor Sarah Messiah, at the University of Texas, said: “These findings are important because the information we collected from children infected with COVID-19 didn’t differ at all by whether a child was asymptomatic, severity of symptoms, when they had the virus, were at a healthy weight or had obesity, or by gender.

"It was the same for everyone.

“Adult literature shows us that natural infection, plus the vaccine-induced protection, gives you the best defence against COVID-19.

"There has been a misunderstanding from some parents who think just because their child has had COVID-19, they are now protected and don’t need to get the vaccine.

"While our study is encouraging in that some amount of natural antibodies last at least six months in children, we still don’t know the absolute protection threshold.

"We have a great tool available to give children additional protection by getting their vaccine, so if your child is eligible, take advantage of it."

The study was published in Pediatrics.