Read UMR's July 13 Statement on NIH Funding in House Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill
NIH Research 101 | UMR Answers Common Questions About NIH Research in this New Fact Sheet Series
NIH's Role In Sustaining the U.S. Economy | 2023 Update Now Available
Why Invest in NIH Research? | UMR Offers Fact Sheets Explaining Why Congress Must #keepNIHstrong

A participant in the NIH 2019-2020 Medical Research Scholars Program.

Photo Credit: National Institutes of Health

About This Photo

COVID-19 severity affected by proportion of antibodies targeting crucial viral protein, study finds

COVID-19 antibodies preferentially target a different part of the virus in mild cases of COVID-19 than they do in severe cases, and wane significantly within several months of infection, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford Medicine.

The findings identify new links between the course of the disease and a patient’s immune response. They also raise concerns about whether people can be re-infected, whether antibody tests to detect prior infection may underestimate the breadth of the pandemic and whether vaccinations may need to be repeated at regular intervals to maintain a protective immune response.