Bad News For Moderna: More Evidence Shows COVID-19 Antibodies Disappear Not Long After Infection | Zero Hedge
Following trial results released yesterday showing Moderna’s vaccine candidate might not be safe for human consumption – apparently, the candidate caused “adverse” reactions in roughly 50% of patients who participated in a recent study – the dozens of companies, universities and governments working on COVID-19 vaccine candidates just received another piece of disheartening news: A growing body of evidence gleaned from research into the virus suggests that antibodies may not offer protection for more than 2-3 months, for many people.
Now, a study produced by researchers at King’s College London is showing recovered patients antibodies declined significantly within months of infection, raising the critical question of whether a vaccine could ever provide lasting protection. Moderna’s vaccine candidate has shown the capacity to produce antibodies in test subjects, but it’s still unclear exactly how much protection this might provide.
University of Nottingham Emeritus Professor in Immunology Herb Sewell, who consulted on the study, said it appeared to show that antibodies to the virus disappeared more quickly than antibodies for MERS and other coronaviruses. Viruses like SARS elicited an immune response that lasted at least a couple of years.
This suggests that the eventual COVID-19 vaccine might need to be administered every year to offer a reliable level of protection.
“If the vaccine response drops off like the natural response does, it does mean we’d have to give repeat ones,” he said.