Antibody Responses to SARS-CoV-2: Let’s Stick to Known Knowns
Open accessAbstract
The scale of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has thrust immunology into the public spotlight in unprecedented ways. In this article, which is part opinion piece and part review, we argue that the normal cadence by which we discuss science with our colleagues failed to properly convey likelihoods of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 to the public and the media. As a result, biologically implausible outcomes were given equal weight as the principles set by decades of viral immunology. Unsurprisingly, questionable results and alarmist news media articles have filled the void. We suggest an emphasis on setting expectations based on prior findings while avoiding the overused approach of assuming nothing. After reviewing Ab-mediated immunity after coronavirus and other acute viral infections, we posit that, with few exceptions, the development of protective humoral immunity of more than a year is the norm. Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is likely to follow the same pattern.
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Protective immunity against symptomatic or severe secondary COVID-19 may involve memory compartments such as circulating memory T and B cells.
“leaves open the reasonable possibility that protective immunity against symptomatic or severe 2° COVID-19 may very well involve memory compartments such as circulating memory T and B cells”
From Adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 (2021) · cites this paper as Baumgarth et al., 2020
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References 100 · Cited by 84
Research works printed but not linked: 9
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- Authors
- Baumgarth, N., Nikolich-Žugich, J., Lee, F. E.-H., & Bhattacharya, D.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Davis (US)
- Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona College of Medicine–Tucson , Tucson, AZ 85724
- Emory University (US)
- University of Arizona (US)
- Corresponding author
- Baumgarth, Nicole
- Venue
- The Journal of Immunology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2020-11-01
- Volume
- 205
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 2342-2350
- ISSN
- 0022-1767 (ISSN-L)
- 1550-6606
- PMC
- PMC7578055
- OpenAlex
- W3082291484
- Cited by
- 84
- References
- 100
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 6
- FWCI
- 0.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Journal of Immunology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Office of Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health (R01AI099108, R01AI121252, R01AI117890, R37AG020719)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Keywords
- SARS-CoV-2, antibody response, humoral immunity, viral immunology, acute viral infection, science communication, media coverage of COVID-19
- MeSH terms
- Seroconversion, Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 Testing, Adult, Aged, Antibodies, Viral, B-Lymphocytes, Humans, Immunologic Memory, Middle Aged, Pneumonia, Viral, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Coronavirus Infections, Clinical Laboratory Techniques, Immunity, Humoral, Antibodies, Neutralizing, Pandemics
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