Adeno-associated viral vectors can deliver gene therapies, but AAV-neutralizing antibodies might prevent the medicines from working.

Adenovirus vectors deliver the genetic instructions for SARS-CoV-2 antigens directly into patients’ cells, provoking a robust immune response. But will pre-existing immunity from common colds take them down?

The results from a study in Iceland can’t say if a recovered patient’s antibodies can protect them from subsequent reinfection.

So far, there are three patients known to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 twice, and in at least one case the second time around was asymptomatic.

An absence of germinal centers—which arise during infections to produce long-lived antibody-generating cells—might explain rapidly waning antibody levels in the disease.

In a small study of patients hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, researchers report distinct early differences between the antibody responses of patients who recovered and those who died, possibly paving the way for a tool to predict disease prognosis.

Studies on SARS-CoV-2’s milder cousins hint that our immune systems are quick to forget the viruses, but it’s unclear whether the same is true for the agent that causes COVID-19.

There are emerging signs that some people might have heightened protection against SARS-CoV-2, perhaps thanks to recent infection by other coronaviruses.

The results, while preliminary, suggest that survivors of SARS-CoV-2 infection may be susceptible to reinfection within weeks or months.