Research suggests children have stronger antibody responses to COVID-19 than adults
Mar 24, 2022
New Delhi, March 24 (ANI): According to a recent study, infants and toddlers who experienced community infection with SARS-CoV-2 had significantly higher levels of antibodies against the virus compared to adults. It suggests that children tend to have strong antibody responses after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Understanding antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 at different ages can inform COVID-19 vaccine strategies and policies. The researchers found evidence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, indicating prior infection with the virus, in 56 people at the time of enrollment. Of these 56 people with antibody evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, 15 were children ages 0 to 4 years, with the youngest three months old; 13 were children ages 5-17 years, and 28 were adults ages 18 years or older. Only about half of those with RBD antibodies had been previously told by a health care provider that they may have SARS-CoV-2 infection, indicating that many milder or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections in the community may not be recognized and counted as infection cases. None of the individuals in the study with previously suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection were hospitalized because of their infections. Few studies have looked at antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in both children and adults. A study of hospitalized patients found that adults mounted higher neutralizing antibody responses than children. In contrast, several community-based studies found that children mounted robust responses. Findings from this study expand on those from previous community-based studies.
