Sunday, December 13, 2020

How kids’ immune systems can evade COVID-19

Amazing stuff! Why are we not able to produce those antibodies outside the human body on an industrial scale?

"... Even when [children] are infected with SARS-CoV-2, children are most likely to experience mild or asymptomatic illness ...
Another clue that children’s response to the virus differs from that of adults is that some children develop COVID-19 symptoms and antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 but never test positive for the virus on a standard RT-PCR test. ...
Farber says the types of antibody children develop offer clues about what is going on. In a study of 32 adults and 47 children aged 18 or younger, she and colleagues found that children mostly produced antibodies aimed at the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which the virus uses to enter cells. Adults generated similar antibodies, but also developed antibodies against the nucleocapsid protein, which is essential for viral replication. Farber says the nucleocapsid protein is typically released in significant quantities only when a virus is widespread in the body.
The kids lacked nucleocapsid-specific antibodies, which suggests that they aren’t experiencing widespread infection, says Farber. Children’s immune responses seem to be able to eliminate the virus before it replicates in large numbers, she says. ..."

How kids’ immune systems can evade COVID Childrens’ untrained immune response seems to be key to eliminating SARS-CoV-2. Young children account for only a small percentage of COVID-19 infections1 — a trend that has puzzled scientists.

No comments: