One in three infected but unvaccinated people no longer have detectable COVID antibodies one year after the infection, according to a prospective seroprevalence study.
The research team performed a second measurement in a population-based cohort from Catalonia six months after the start of the vaccination campaign (the first one was just after the first confinement), to monitor the level and type of antibodies against five viral antigens (the whole spike (S) protein, the RBD receptor-binding domain, the S2 fragment, the full nucleocaspid (N) protein, or the N-terminal fragment).
A total of 1076 people, aged 43 to 72 years, were included in the analysis.
They found in 36% of infected but unvaccinated people antibodies were no longer detectable almost a year after the infection.
Also, vaccination induced significantly higher antibody levels in people who had a prior infection, as compared to those without prior infection.
The research team also found that Moderna’s Spikevax generated the highest levels of antibodies.
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