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January 27, 2022 – It turns out that the combination matters, not what comes first.
The strong immunity against coronavirus infection is approximately the same among people who have been vaccinated and then had a breakthrough infection, compared to others who became infected first and then received immunization, a new study reveals.
Either way, people usually get a strong immune response because of this hybrid defense.
“Interestingly, the immune boost for vaccination after a natural infection was so uniform, given that a natural infection itself produces highly variable immunity,” said study author William B. Messer, MD, PhD.
“It was new, if not completely surprising,” he said.
The study was published online on Tuesday last year Science Immunology.
Study of immune responses
Messer; lead author Timothy Bates, PhD student; and their colleagues studied 104 employees at the University of Health and Science in Oregon who were vaccinated against COVID-19. They divided them into three groups: 42 who were vaccinated but never had COVID-19, 31 who developed the disease and were later vaccinated, and 31 others who had a breakthrough infection.
Ninety-six participants received the Pfizer vaccine, six received Moderna, and two received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The researchers compared immune responses to coronavirus variants using laboratory blood samples. The study was conducted before the Omicron variant, although researchers believe the findings are still applicable.
Mean antibody levels were 3.6 times higher in the hybrid immune groups compared to the vaccination group alone, a significant difference. At the same time, the average levels were 2.5 times higher in the breakout group.
However, the researchers did not find a significant difference between the antibody responses of the hybrid group and the vaccination group.
“Previous infection is a ticket to boosting your immune response to vaccination by providing stronger immunity than the vaccine itself,” said Messer, an associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the University of Oregon’s School of Health and Science.
In addition, “Our work shows that ‘puncture infection will lead to an immune response, more likely to protect against further puncture infections.’
Unlike vaccination itself, age is not a significant factor in hybrid immune responses. In other words, older people are just as likely to develop “super immunity” as younger participants.
Controversial term for “natural immunity”.
There has been some controversy over the term “natural immunity,” especially in politically charged discussions in the United States.
“I think there was some confusion that innate immunity is in some way equivalent to vaccine-induced immunity in terms of [being] just as complete or protective, “says Messer.
But previous research has shown that innate immunity may be more volatile, he says, and is more likely to provide less consistent protection than the protection that comes from the vaccine.
Vaccination remains essential
Although the hybrid immune response is strong, regardless of the order of protection, the authors include a warning.
“Because vaccination protects against serious illness and death, it is safer for people to be vaccinated before than after a natural infection,” they wrote.
“One big message is that our work shows that vaccines can and should still play an important role in protection,” says Messer.
“Vaccination raises all boats – if you have been infected before or if you experience a breakthrough infection. In both cases, your immunity will be closer to completion.”
Stay on Omicron courses
As for Omicron, “the way to be prepared is to be vaccinated, preferably with two doses of mRNA, to prevent serious complications of COVID-19,” said Hannah El Sahli, PhD, who was asked to comment on the study.
“Vaccines continue to be very effective against severe COVID-19 and death by permutation of viral variants, and this is at the top of a remarkable safety record in hundreds of millions of people worldwide,” said El Sahli, a professor of molecular virology and microbiology at the Medical School. Baylor College in Houston.
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