Mrna vaccines may provide lasting immunity
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https://www.popsci.com/health/mrna-vaccine-immunity/
Immunity from mRNA vaccines could last for years, study suggests
A new study led by researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine suggests that the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna induce a prolonged immune response in the body that could last for years. “It’s a good sign for how durable our immunity is from this vaccine,” Dr. Ali Ellebedy, an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis and one of the leaders of the study, told the New York Times. The study has been accepted by the journal Nature and is under accelerated review.
Ellebedy and his colleagues recruited 41 people who had been immunized with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. From there, the team collected blood samples from each individual at time intervals of three, four, five, seven, and 15 weeks out from the first vaccine dose to measure antibody and immune cell levels in the blood over time.
The study’s main conclusions are based on tissue samples extracted from the lymph nodes of 14 of the 41 volunteers, where immune cells are engineered and conditioned to recognize and fight off specific pathogens after exposure via vaccine or infection.
At 15 weeks, the researchers found that the lymph node activity of all 14 participants remained high, which means the body was still producing new immune cells that recognize the coronavirus at a high level, months after vaccination. Typically, lymph node productivity peaks at one to two weeks after vaccination, with stimulation completely ceasing between week four and week six, Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona, told the New York Times. If lymph node activity remained that high for months—when it usually only lasts a few weeks—then immunity imparted by mRNA COVID vaccines could last for years, and possibly even a lifetime, the researchers concluded.
In addition, these results suggest that most individuals who received one of the mRNA-based vaccines may not need an additional booster shot against existing variants. That could always change, though, depending on how the virus continues to mutate. Older adults and immunocompromised individuals, however, may still need boosters.
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The growing consensus is that acquired immunity seems to be long-lived. The J&J and natural immunity seem to confer similar results.
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Yep - no apparent benefits from vaccinating the naturally immune:
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Yep - no apparent benefits from vaccinating the naturally immune:
@xenon said in Mrna vaccines may provide lasting immunity:
Yep - no apparent benefits from vaccinating the naturally immune:
My bet is even better against the variants…
