People who have had COVID-19 are highly likely to have immunity to it for at least five months but there is evidence that those with antibodies may still be able to carry and spread the virus, a UK study of healthcare workers has found.

Preliminary findings by researchers at Public Health England (PHE) show that reinfections in people who have COVID-19 antibodies from a past infection are rare — with only 44 cases found among 6614 previously infected people in the study.

But experts cautioned the findings mean people who contracted the disease in the first wave of the pandemic in the early months of 2020 may now be vulnerable to catching it again.

They also warned that people with ‘natural immunity’ — acquired through having had the infection — may still be able carry the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in their nose and throat, and could unwittingly pass it on.