The new coronavirus and virus antibodies can exist simultaneously in pediatric patients' bodies, a new study shows.
The study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, used data from a retrospective analysis of 6,369 children who underwent coronavirus testing and 215 patients who underwent antibody testing at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., between March 13 and June 21.
Researchers found the median time between testing positive for the virus to when the virus could no longer be detected was 25 days. The median time to testing positive for antibodies was 18 days.
Thirty-three children were tested for both the virus and antibodies during the course of the illness, of which nine showed presence of antibodies in their blood while also later testing positive for the virus.
In addition, researchers found patients 6 to 15 years old took a longer time to clear the virus as compared to patients between 16 and 22 years old.