A study published by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis did not conclude that people who have had COVID-19 once are protected for life, as claimed in some online posts.
The study cited as evidence on social media that infection leads to lifelong protection from COVID-19 was published in May 2021 in the journal Nature.
The link to the publication in Nature is viewable:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03647-4
The University of Washington study analyzed blood samples from 77 participants and bone marrow from 18 of the participants to assess whether they had any immune memory in the months after infection.
After the conclusion of this study, a user also posted on Twitter, writing: "Washington University School of Medicine RELEASES DATA claiming that if you've had COVID, you're likely protected FOR LIFE..." (here).
A similar blog post citing the study, dated December 21, 2021, states: “If you’ve had COVID, you’re likely protected for life.” (here).
Users referred to a press release published by the university, which indeed stated that the study found that people who had a mild illness developed “antibody-producing cells that can last a lifetime.”
The study involved 77 participants who had recovered from a SARS-CoV-2 infection and 11 individuals who had never been infected. Participants provided blood samples that were analyzed at three-month intervals starting one month after infection.
In a press release issued by the university, senior author of the study and associate professor of Pathology and Immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine, Ali Ellebedy, said that these cells are “quiet, they just sit in the bone marrow and secrete antibodies. They’ve been doing this since the infection resolved and they’ll continue to do so indefinitely” (here).
Ellebedy told Reuters that the study did not show or claim that people infected with mild SARS-CoV-2 infection are protected for life.
"Having distinct antibody responses in the blood for life does NOT equal being 'protected' for life. Not all antibodies are protective, especially if the virus they are raised against is constantly changing," Ellebedy told Reuters.
“Our study showed that people who recover from a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection develop an immune memory in the form of memory B cells and plasma cells. The latter are simply antibody-producing cells that reside in our bone marrow and survive for a long period of time. This response would be similar to our response to any other mild virus infection and that is what we wanted to show.”, said Ellebedy (here), (here).
(Full article from Reuters)