There is good news from researchers at The Rockefeller University in New York. They found that people who recover from COVID-19 may develop a faster and better defense against the virus if they encounter it again.

According to The Guardian, the scientists said that the immune system remembers the virus and mounts an effective attack if is invaded a second time. They also predicted that this powerful immune response could potentially provide protection for several years.

This is excellent news after some studies reported that antibody protection to the virus wanes after only a few months. Researchers at King’s College London analyzed the blood of infected patients and healthcare workers and found that the levels of protective antibodies peaked about three weeks after the first symptoms appeared. However, those antibodies were found in only 17% of the patients three months later.

According to The Daily Caller, in some patients, the antibodies were virtually undetectable.

''People are producing a reasonable antibody response to the virus, but it’s waning over a short period of time and depending on how high your peak is, that determines how long the antibodies are staying around,'' said Dr. Katie Doores, one of the lead authors of the study.

The Rockefeller University study focused on disease-fighting B-cells in the body that make highly honed antibodies, and found they were robust months later.

''It’s very good news,'' said Michel C. Nussenzweig, a professor and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology at The Rockefeller University. ''The expectation is that people should be able to produce a rapid antibody response and resist infection in a large number of cases.'' Nussenzweig was a senior author of the study.

Once infected by a virus, the body makes T-cells and B-cells that remember the virus and are ready to mount a rapid defense if reinfection occurs, according to The Guardian. In the latest study, the researchers found that the B-cells were ready for action to neutralize COVID-19 six months after the initial infection.