Asymptomatic or mild symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection elicits durable neutralizing antibody responses in children and adolescents

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Abstract

As SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread globally, questions have emerged regarding the strength and durability of immune responses in specific populations. In this study, we evaluated humoral immune responses in 69 children and adolescents with asymptomatic or mild symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. We detected robust IgM, IgG, and IgA antibody responses to a broad array of SARS-CoV-2 antigens at the time of acute infection and 2 and 4 months after acute infection in all participants. Notably, these antibody responses were associated with virus-neutralizing activity that was still detectable 4 months after acute infection in 94% of children. Moreover, antibody responses and neutralizing activity in sera from children and adolescents were comparable or superior to those observed in sera from 24 adults with mild symptomatic infection. Taken together, these findings indicate that children and adolescents with mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection generate robust and durable humoral immune responses that can likely contribute to protection from reinfection.

Authors

Carolina Garrido, Jillian H. Hurst, Cynthia G. Lorang, Jhoanna N. Aquino, Javier Rodriguez, Trevor S. Pfeiffer, Tulika Singh, Eleanor C. Semmes, Debra J. Lugo, Alexandre T. Rotta, Nicholas A. Turner, Thomas W. Burke, Micah T. McClain, Elizabeth A. Petzold, Sallie R. Permar, M. Anthony Moody, Christopher W. Woods, Matthew S. Kelly, Genevieve G. Fouda