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While the past few days and weeks have been dominated by negative headlines regarding the delta variant, Monday was the first day of positive news from research circles regarding the fight against the coronavirus. According to a new study, mRNA vaccines, such as those from Moderna and Pfizer/Biontech, could provide an immune response from the body for years, preventing corona infections or severe disease progression. Vaccinated individuals who have undergone disease could have lifelong protection in the first place. The findings were published in Nature.
Memory cells in lymph nodes
The finding that the body’s immune response after vaccination could last longer than expected made the research team led by immunologist Ali Ellebedy of Washington University. They took samples from lymph nodes, where cells are trained to fight the disease, in 41 people over a period of months. Even nearly 4 months after vaccination, the so-called memory B cells were still active.
They ensure that antibodies can be formed against a disease that has been lived through, but often disappear after just a few weeks. The fact that they could still be detected for such a long time and in the same numbers after vaccination makes the researchers optimistic that the protection against corona disease lasts for years, if not the whole life – at least as far as the mRNA vaccines are concerned.
Mutations as a factor of uncertainty
Since the cells continue to develop, for example when they come into contact with coronaviruses, this could even make boosters obsolete – especially for those who have already had corona disease as well as the vaccination. Once again, however, the dreaded mutations are considered to be the spoilsports. They could be responsible for the fact that the vaccinations are not sufficient in the long term and must be refreshed with slightly changed vaccines.
According to the research team, people who generally have a weakened immune system, who had to take immune-suppressing drugs when they were vaccinated, or who are elderly, for example, will probably have to receive another vaccination at a later date. According to the researchers, however, it is also not unlikely that the body’s immune response could be successful even with mutated variants.
That the findings are transferable to vector-based vaccines such as AstraZeneca is unlikely and was not part of the study. But even at AstraZeneca, there are at least initial findings that the vaccine protection should only develop its full effect after a few months, even keeping pace with Moderna and Pfizer.
— source: futurezone.at/picture: unsplash.com
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