Immunity against the coronavirus disease COVID-19 appears to be strengthened as the time between vaccination and infection increases.
This is evidenced by the results of a laboratory study conducted by scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University (USA), the press service of the university reports.
The results suggest that booster vaccines should be given no more than one year apart, at least among healthy people.
As part of the study, the researchers measured the antibody response in blood samples from 96 generally healthy university employees who received what is known as “hybrid immunity” in two ways:
- by vaccination followed by breakthrough infection (cases where the vaccine failed to provide complete immunity against the pathogen);
- by vaccination after exposure to COVID-19.
It turned out that the immune response was uniformly stronger the longer the time interval between vaccination and infection. The longest measured interval was 404 days.
In addition, both groups developed equally powerful immune responses.
Longer intervals between natural infection and vaccination seem to enhance the immune response in healthy people, the researchers note.
At the same time, the researchers caution that they were studying the immune response of relatively healthy people, and more frequent booster shots may be appropriate among vulnerable categories – older people or people with a weakened immune system.
The results likely indicate that the body’s immune response against coronavirus develops over time.
The immune system is learning. “If you are going to amplify the response, this study shows that you may want to amplify it after a longer training period, rather than immediately after infection.
This indicates the long-term effectiveness of the so-called “memory cells” – B cells that recognize the virus and produce protein antibodies to neutralize the virus and its many varieties, the researchers note.
Thus, the ever-increasing number of people who become infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may benefit from vaccination, even if they have put it off until now.
Relying only on natural infection is a bad idea, given the risks of severe illness, long-term complications and death, scientists say.
Also, according to scientists, there is evidence indicating that the virus is evolving into an endemic state.
Our findings point to a future in which the inevitable infections caused by vaccine breakthroughs will help create a reservoir of herd immunity that could help blunt future waves and reduce opportunities for the virus to evolve further, the researchers note.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.