As per a study led by an Indian-origin researcher in US, immunity against COVID-19 may last for at least five months after getting infected with the virus. For the study, researchers from University of Arizona studied the development of antibodies from samples of nearly 6,000 people who were infected with the virus. 

Deepta Bhattacharya, associate professor at University of Arizona, who led the study along with Professor Janko Nikolich-Zugich said, We clearly see high-quality antibodies still being produced five to seven months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. She added, Many concerns have been expressed about immunity against COVID-19 not lasting. We used this study to investigate that question and found immunity is stable for at least five months. 

Deepta and Janko tracked antibody levels of infected individuals over several months. As per the researchers, when the virus first infects cells, the immune system deploys short-lived plasma cells that produce antibodies to immediately fight the virus. The second stage of the immune response is the creation of long-lived plasma cells, which produce high-quality antibodies that provide lasting immunity. 

Bhattacharya added: The latest time-points we tracked in infected individuals were past seven months, so that is the longest period of time we can confirm immunity lasts.