NEW STUDIES SUGGEST THAT COVID-19 SURVIVORS HAVE LONG-TERM IMMUNITY

Rebecca Myers, MSN, RN for MEHOP

Two new studies are out that suggest that people who survived COVID-19 have long-term immunity from the virus3,4.

If you are a COVID-19 survivor and received the vaccination, your immunity is boosted up to “50 times greater than before the vaccine2.”

People who had COVID-19 develop antibodies (immunity) that fight the infection.

Some of the antibodies become ‘memory B cells’ that settle into your bone marrow.

Memory B cells have special properties that develop only after you have survived the COVID-19 virus. These cells stay quiet until they are needed.

If you are attacked by the COVID-19 virus, memory B cells then spring action to release antibodies into your bloodstream to protect you4.

There is ongoing research to learn how long the vaccination protects you if you didn’t have COVID-19.

Whether or not you had COVID19, getting the COVID-19 vaccine is your best protection against contracting it1.

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Key Things to Know about COVID-19 Vaccines. Updated June 11, 2021.
  2. Radbruch, A., & Chang, H. A long-term perspective on immunity to COVID. Nature (2021). https://doi..org/10.1038/d41586-021-01557-z
  3. Turner, J.S., Kim, W., Kalaidina, E. et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection induces long-lived bone marrow plasma cells in humans. Nature (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03647-4
  4. Wang, Z., Muecksch, F., Schaefer-Babajew, D. et al. Naturally enhanced neutralizing breadth against SARS-CoV-2 one year after infection. Nature (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03696-9

Leave a Reply