Scientists study whether immune response wards off or worsens Covid

Research into antibodies could explain children's protection against disease, or why virus causes life-threatening effects

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British scientists have launched a major study aimed at uncovering the critical role that human antibodies and other immune defences play in the severity of Covid-19 cases.

Results could support some scientists' belief that antibodies triggered by common colds could be protecting children against the disease. Alternatively, the study could confirm other researchers' fears that some immune responses to the virus may trigger deadly inflammatory reactions that could bedevil attempts to create anti-Covid vaccines.