Study claims COVID-19 immunity lasts at least six months; WHO signals hope

The year 2020 began with a grim atmosphere as the novel coronavirus took over the world, sending billions of people around the globe in a lockdown. The situation became worse as the year progressed and the world lost millions to the deadly virus.

However, now, as the end of the year is nearing, scientists are inching closer to developing a coronavirus vaccine. To add to the good news, a British study has now found that people who have been affected by the virus once are unlikely to contract the deadly disease again at least for the next six months.

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This study, the World Health Organization (WHO) says is a hope the world needed at this point of the year. "This is really good news to see that we are seeing sustained levels of immune response in humans so far," said Mike Ryan, WHO’s top emergency expert. "It also gives us hope on the vaccine side."

However, WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, Kerkhove, has asked people and researchers to exercise caution even after the study has been proved right. "We still need to follow these individuals for a longer period of time to see how long immunity lasts," said Kerkhove.

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The news has come after the US biotech giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have applied for immediate approval of the vaccine in the country on Friday.

"The FDA recognizes that transparency and dialogue are critical for the public to have confidence in COVID-19 vaccines," Stephen Hahn, organisation n head, said. "I want to assure the American people that the FDA's process and evaluation of the data for a potential COVID-19 vaccine will be as open and transparent as possible."