How good is children’s immunity to covid19 infection ? A new study found that children infected with the SARS2 virus are less likely than adults to produce antibodies against the virus, despite having similar symptoms and levels of the virus in their bodies.
The scientists in This study looked at 57 children and 51 adults who tested positive for the virus and had mild symptoms, such as headaches and fevers, or were asymptomatic
What they found was that children and adults had a similar number of viruses in their body but only 37% of the children produced antibodies against the virus, compared with 76% of the adults.
It is possible that compared with adults, Children produce fewer antibodies because they have a more robust innate immune response, which is the first line of immune defense in our body. An earlier innate immune activation and rapid viral clearance in children may not trigger the more slower adaptive immune response that produces antibodies.
Therefore, Children might not be as protected from reinfection, but as we know, they are still at very low risk of complications from the initial infection.
Link to the original study:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2789845
Title of the study:
Comparison of Seroconversion in Children and Adults With Mild COVID-19
Authors of the study:
Zheng Quan Toh; Jeremy Anderson, Nadia Mazarakis; Melanie Neeland; Rachel A. Higgins, Karin Rautenbacher, BAppSc; Kate Dohle; Jill Nguyen; Isabella Overmars; Celeste Donato; Sohinee Sarkar; Vanessa Clifford; Andrew Daley, Suellen Nicholson; Francesca L. Mordant; Kanta Subbarao, David P. Burgner, Nigel Curtis; Julie E. Bines, Sarah McNab, Andrew C. Steer; Kim Mulholland; Shidan Tosif; Nigel W. Crawford Daniel G. Pellicci, Lien Anh Ha Do, Paul V. Licciardi,
