We investigated the duration of humoral and T-cell immune response in paired samples among 22 convalescent health care workers (HCWs). A median of 1.8 months after diagnosis, T-cell response was significantly lower in HCWs with early loss of antibodies (6 cases, 27%). After 5.1 months, antibodies decline was observed in 77% of cases (41% seroreverted; p<0.01), and 36% have lost T-cell response (75% lost response to spike protein). Persistence of immune response was observed in those who developed a greater adaptative immune response. Our data point to the initial immune response as the relevant player in COVID-19 duration of protection.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.