E.T. and Clark
Thanks for this. There are in fact some references to this phenomenon of multiple autoantibodies in Covid-19 patients and of course the cytokine storm is very well described in severe cases. However the detection of autoantibodies does not necessarily translate to autoimmune disease but may just be related to a very potent polyclonal activation of the immune system. The effects of these autoantibodies on cytokines (the messenger proteins that produce the immune and inflammatory response) is not always consistent and may even enhance the effects of the cytokines. On balance the immune system is turbocharged in these patients, hence the cytokine storm and to me therefore the description of these auto-antibodies, their lack of specificity and consistency in effect amounts at present to an observation and a result of this immune activation but the effects on the long and short term immunity is yet to be defined. At present the main worry in fact is hyperactivity of the immune response rather than suppression of immunity.