Scientists have discovered how you can get super-immune to COVID-19

A breakthrough infection, namely COVID-19 infection after a prior vaccination, significantly increases the immune response to subsequent variants of the coronavirus, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University found. This means that each infection gives us greater protection against the next infection. This may contribute to extinguishing the pandemic. But the condition is, of course, vaccination.

1. Researchers in Portland examined the immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in people who experienced a breakthrough infection and compared it with the level of protection in those who were vaccinated only
2. They found that there were many more antibodies in the blood drawn in the first group
3. These antibodies then neutralized the live virus much more effectively
4. This study shows us what the end of the pandemic may be, say the authors of the study.
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

How To Get Super Immunity Against COVID-19?

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland examined what immunity looks like in people who have had the COVID-19 infection (referred to in this case as a “breakthrough”) after being vaccinated against the coronavirus. This is a laboratory study that analyzed what an immune response looks like in contact with the live SARS-CoV-2 virus. They were published on the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The blood test showed that the breakthrough infection generates a very strong immune response against the Delta variant. According to the authors of the research, such a strong defensive reaction should also appear against other variants.

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“You can’t get a better immune response than this,” said one of the study authors, Dr. Fikadu Tafesse, a specialist in molecular microbiology and immunology at OHSU School of Medicine. – Vaccines are very effective in protecting against severe disease. Our study shows that people who are vaccinated and then exposed to a breakthrough infection have super immunity, he added.

The study showed that the antibodies tested in the blood samples of the people who had had the breakthrough infection were both more numerous and much more effective (in some cases up to a thousand times) than the antibodies made after the second dose of Pfizer. This concerned mainly type A (IgA) immunoglobulins.

This means that each exposure to the virus of a vaccinated person enhances the immune response to subsequent exposure to SARS-CoV-2, even in the case of new variants.

What did the research show?

52 OHSU employees participated in the study. They were all vaccinated with two doses of the vaccine, 50 of which was a preparation from Pfizer. 26 of them experienced the groundbreaking mild COVID-19 infection. Of the infected group, 10 people had contact with the Delta variant, nine with the other variant, and seven others have no information about the variant. The average age in this group is 38, women accounted for 77 percent. Blood samples were taken – on average – 28 days after a positive PCR test and 213 days after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.

The rest of the people, who had not had any infection with them, were the control group. They all received the Pfizer vaccine, and a blood sample was taken on average 28 days after the second dosei.

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None of these 52 people had contact with the virus prior to vaccination.

The research showed, among others, that the median level of antibodies (immunoglobulins) against the SARS-CoV-2 S spike protein receptor binding domain in the first group was 2152, and 668 in the second.

In contrast, the median level of FRNT50 (Focus Reduction Neutralization Test, used to quantify the titer of virus neutralizing antibodies) to the Delta variant was 2482 in the group of vaccinated and infected people. However, in the group of only vaccinated people it was at the level of 243.

This may be the end of the pandemic, but vaccination is key

– This study tells us what the end of the pandemic will look like – says prof. Marcel Curlin, infectious disease specialist and research co-author. – It does not mean that we are witnessing this end now, but we know what it will look like next. After vaccination and then exposure to the virus, we will be well protected against future variants, he adds.

Currently, the world is on the brink of a new wave of coronavirus, this time with the Omikron variant in the lead role. Its immunity to vaccines is currently being tested not in laboratories, but under real conditions.

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“We haven’t tested the Omicron, but based on our research, we expect the breakthrough infections with this variant to generate an equally strong immune response among vaccinated people,” adds Tafesse. That is, vaccination, and then mild transmission of infection in subsequent variants, may reduce the severity of the global pandemic.

– But vaccination is crucial. This is the foundation of our protection – says prof. Curlin.

Also read:

1. How Much Does COVID-19 Treatment Cost At Home? Here is my kit
2. This is how the coronavirus kills. The doctor tells you what “fails” in the body
3. Dr. Fauci: The third dose protects against the Omicron. “The message remains clear”
4. Doctor Cautions: Omikron and Delta May Create a New Coronavirus Super Variant

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