Quote:
Originally Posted by EdFNJ
You might want to INCREASE your odds by the number of people who are carriers and have never been tested because they are asymptomatic or presymptomatic. And NO ONE knows yet if having antibodies means bupkis.*
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Not specifically for COVID-19, but it's a good bet that the presence of antibodies confers immunity. In general, IgM antibodies speak for a recent infection and IgG antibodies for long term immunity. The long term immunity tends to wane over time but is generally good for quite a while. Polio----pretty much lifetime immunity. Diphtheria---used to be thought to be lifelong but now adults should get a booster if they are going to be in close contact with infants. Tetanus---good for 5-10 years. MMR ---good long term, but since these are generally childhood illnesses it doesn't come up much in adults. Hepatitis B---seems to be a little difference between immunity from having had the disease vs. the recombinant vaccine but also long term.
So, it's a pretty good bet that anyone testing positive for IgG antibodies for Covid-19 is immune, the question will be for how long?