New Delhi, India

Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the globe, and scientists continue to learn more things about the virus.

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Researchers now claim that antibodies among people who once had COVID-19 drop rapidly. A team from the Imperial College in London discovered that the number of people testing positive for antibodies has dropped tremendously over the last few months. To be exact, a 26 per cent has been lodged in the number of positive tests for antibodies between June and September.

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Antibodies play the role of a defender inside our bodies, and prevent viruses from entering the body’s system. This implies only one thing: that people can contract the virus multiple times, and that getting it once does not guarantee protection from it.

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In the United Kingdom, where the study was undertaken, the number of COVID-related deaths have increased by 60 per cent in the week of 16 October, as per figures from the county’s Office for National Statistics.

The ONS numbers paint a grim picture of coronavirus-related deaths in the country, with over 60,000 fatalities.

Additionally, as part of a study titled “REACT-2”, more than 350,000 people in England tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.

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In July, 60 in 1,000 people reported having antibodies. But in September, the number fell to 44 per 1,000 people, suggesting that whatever immunity people had developed after contracting the virus died out soon after.

The decline in antibodies was the sharpest among old people above 65, and among those who didn’t show symptoms as opposed to symptomatic cases.

Healthcare workers, on the other hand displayed the highest number of antibodies, which researchers believe is owing to their regular exposure to the virus.

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Antibodies quite literally work like soldiers defending territory against intruders. They latch on to the virus, and prevent it from attacking the cells of our body, and reaching our immune system.

Even though reinfection has been rarely reported, cases of reinfection are now being reported across the globe. Researchers believe that this may be owing to their immunity fading.