⁍ Antibodies against the novel coronavirus declined rapidly in the British population during the summer.

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⁍ Scientists at Imperial College London tracked antibody levels following the first wave of COVID-19 infections in March and April.

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⁍ The experience of other coronaviruses suggested immunity might not be enduring.

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– People who contracted a new virus that has killed at least 11 people in the UK may not be as well protected as they thought. Antibodies against the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, rapidly declined in the British population during the summer, according to a new study, raising the prospect of a second wave of infections that has forced lockdowns and restrictions in recent weeks, Reuters reports. “We can see the antibodies and we can see them declining and we know that antibodies on their own are quite protective,” says a researcher at Imperial College London. “On the balance of evidence I would say, with what we know for other coronaviruses, it would look as if immunity declines away at the same rate as antibodies decline away, and that this is an indication of waning immunity at the population level.” She says that while a “good vaccine may well be better than natural immunity,” there has been no change in the levels of antibodies seen in healthcare workers.