Oregon, July 22 -- : A new laboratory study from Oregon Health and Science University suggests that older people appear to have fewer antibodies against the novel coronavirus.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Antibodies are blood proteins that are made by the immune system to protect against infection. They are known to be key players in protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

"Our older populations are potentially more susceptible to the variants even if they are vaccinated," said senior author Fikadu Tafesse, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine.

Tafesse and colleagues emphasized that even though they measured diminished antibody r...