People testing negative for Covid-19 despite exposure may have ‘immune memory’
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent from Science | The Guardian on (#5RRBB)
Study says some individuals clear virus rapidly due to a strong immune response from existing T-cells, meaning tests record negative result
We all know that person who, despite their entire household catching Covid-19, has never tested positive for the disease. Now scientists have found an explanation, showing that a proportion of people experience abortive infection" in which the virus enters the body but is cleared by the immune system's T-cells at the earliest stage meaning that PCR and antibody tests record a negative result.
About 15% of healthcare workers who were tracked during the first wave of the pandemic in London, England, appeared to fit this scenario.
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