Long-term immune response to COVID-19 in children, adults

Editor's Note

This Italian study describes the long-term features of the immune response to COVID-19 for different ages after mild infection.

In this cohort of 252 family clusters with COVID-19, the immune response persisted until 12 months after infection in all age groups, with significantly higher antibody peaks for younger patients at every follow-up time point.

Children younger than 3 years developed higher levels of antibodies compared to adults older than 18 years, with an overall median antibody titer 5-fold higher than adults.

The results show different antibody titers in mildly affected age groups, suggesting that factors such as cellular responses, genetics, environment, and stochastic variables may contribute to the variation in immune response among individuals, irrespective of disease severity, the researchers say. The findings could help in optimizing future COVID-19 vaccination strategies and prevention policies.