Why Children Are Resistant to COVID-19 Revealed [Reading Science]

Australian Research Team Quickly Defeats Using Natural Immunity Without Antibodies

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The reason why children are strong against the COVID-19 virus has been revealed. It has been found that because they possess strong innate immunity, they can fight off the virus without necessarily producing antibodies when infected with COVID-19.

According to the international academic journal Nature on the 11th, an Australian research team published these findings on the paper-sharing site 'JAMA Network Open' on the 9th. The team conducted a study on a total of 108 COVID-19 infected patients, including 57 children with an average age of 4 years and 51 adults with an average age of 37 years, between May 10 and October 28, 2020. All of them had mild symptoms such as headaches and fever or were asymptomatic.

The research team first measured the amount of virus in the patients' throats and noses and also checked the amount of immunoglobulin G antibodies against the virus in their blood through blood sampling. The results confirmed that children had similar amounts of the virus as adults. However, when testing for the presence of antibodies in the blood, a clear difference was observed. While 76% of adults had antibodies, only 37% of children were confirmed to have antibodies.

The research team explained that children have much stronger innate immunity than adults, which acts as the primary immune system against pathogens such as the COVID-19 virus, often resulting in no need to produce separate antibodies like adults. Additionally, children can respond better than adults to viral invasion through the nose and throat.

Earlier, in November 2020, a research team from Columbia University in New York also presented similar findings. The Columbia team reported, "Adults produce a broader range of antibodies, including those that block the virus, compared to children when infected with COVID-19, but respiratory symptoms can progress to the most severe form of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)." They added, "In contrast, children produce only some antibodies and generally do not deviate significantly from the level of respiratory illness. However, life-threatening multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) can occur."

Professor Donna Farber of Columbia University explained, "This study means that children's bodies quickly eliminate the virus and do not necessarily engage in receptor responses to produce antibodies."