![Children Produce Weaker COVID-19 Antibodies
Children Produce Weaker COVID-19 Antibodies](https://images.medindia.net/health-images/1200_1000/coronavirus-in-kids.jpg)
"Our study provides an in-depth examination of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in kids, revealing a stark contrast with adults," said study author Donna Farber from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in the US.
"In kids, the infection course is much shorter and probably not as disseminated as in adults. Kids may clear this virus more efficiently than adults, and they may not need a strong antibody immune response to get rid of it," Farber added.
One of the striking manifestations of the Covid-19 pandemic is that the majority of children cope well with the virus while older people struggle.
Among the 47 children in the study, 16 were treated for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children or MIS-C, and 31 children of similar ages had tested positive for the virus after visiting the medical center for the treatment of other conditions.
Half of the children without MIS-C had no Covid-19 symptoms.
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Both groups of children produced the same antibody profile, the study found, which differed from that of adults.
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The children's antibodies had the least neutralizing activity, while all adults, including young adults in their 20s, produced neutralizing antibodies.
The sickest adults had the most neutralizing activity.
In contrast to adults, children also produced very few antibodies against a viral protein that is only visible to the immune system after the virus infects human cells.
"That suggests that in kids, the infection doesn't really spread a lot and doesn't kill a lot of their cells," Farber said.
Also, the antibody responses found in children do not suggest that children will have a weaker response to a vaccine, the researchers stressed.
Source-IANS