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Agencies

Scientists have discovered antibodies in the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients that provide powerful protection against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease, when tested in animals and human cell cultures.

Injections of such antibodies could, in principle, be given to patients in the early stage of COVID-19 to reduce the level of virus and protect against severe disease, according to the researchers from the Scripps Research Institute in the US.

These antibodies may also be used to provide temporary, vaccine-like protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection for healthcare workers, elderly people, and others who respond poorly to traditional vaccines or are suspected of a recent exposure to the coronavirus, they said.

The research, published on Monday in the journal Science, offers a paradigm of swift reaction to an emergent and deadly viral pandemic.

It sets the stage for clinical trials and additional tests of the antibodies, which are now being produced as potential treatments and preventives for COVID-19, the researchers said.