Hanks still carry antibodies

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Rita Wilson

Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks still have antibodies nine months after they contracted COVID-19.

The Hollywood couple was diagnosed with the disease while in Australia in March, and have subsequently offered to help with studies to find a vaccine, and they are still protected months later.

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week at the studio for a socially-distanced chat, host Jimmy told Rita: "I feel like you're the only person I don't have to worry about because you must be brimming with antibodies right now."

To which she replied: "I still have antibodies!"

As part of the UCLA program they are a part of, Rita and husband Tom, both 64, get tested for coronavirus "every couple of months."

She added: "They test us and so far we still have them. They diminish as you get farther away from your infection, but they're still there helping us out."

The pair have also been donating plasma to aid research for a vaccine.

Forrest Gump star Tom previously admitted the illness left him feeling exhausted, and revealed that his wife had a high fever and lost her sense of taste.

"We had very different symptoms," he said. She had a higher fever than I did. She had horrible nausea...

"We were eating takeout food that I thought was delicious. It was savory goodness. It had butter sauces. It had come from a thing, highly recommended joint. And she was saying, 'This tastes like oatmeal to me.' I thought she was insane.

"I had bones that felt like they were made out of soda crackers and bone-crushing fatigue."