Antibody responses in COVID-19 patients could guide vaccine design

A comprehensive analysis of antibody responses in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients could inform the development of an effective vaccine, according to a study published September 10 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Chao Wu and Rui Huang of Nanjing University Medical School, and colleagues. The results show that the neutralizing activity of antibodies from recovered patients is typically not strong, and declines sharply within one month after hospital discharge.

The world is facing an unprecedented challenge with communities and economies affected by the growing COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there is no vaccine or effective drugs approved to treat or prevent the disease. A better understanding of antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—will provide fundamental information for developing effective treatments and a preventive vaccine. In the new study, researchers continuously monitored SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses in 19 non-severe and seven severe COVID-19 patients for seven weeks from disease onset.

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