Coronavirus (COVID-19) Discussion Thread

[curl-6]

Hiku said:

curl-6 said:

It's not as cut and dried as that; antibodies naturally diminish over time as they're no longer needed once an infection is cleared; what's more important to lasting immunity are Memory T Cells and B Cells as these last much much longer and 'remember' past pathogens so that a fast and effective immune response can be mounted if it is ever encountered again.

It's still not quite clear how long Acquired Immunity lasts for COVID, including after vaccination, but there is some evidence for lasting and durable immunity thanks to these memory cells.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200908/Memory-B-cells-indicate-durable-immunity-in-COVID-19.aspx

I don't recall those cells being mentioned in the article, so hopefully that's good news. But it did say that some of them had begun shifting away from working on a vaccine, and instead focused treatments, because of the rapid anti body decline.

It's good to cover your bases just in case, but I also think it's too early to give up hope for lasting immunity as ultimately we won't know how long it lasts until people have been vaccinated for long enough that it either wears off or persists. Antibodies dropping off fast isn't proof that immunity will be similarly short lived as ultimately its memory cells rather than antibodies that maintain long term immunity.

It could just be something you get a booster shot for every 10 years like Tetanus.

Last edited by curl-6 - on 09 November 2020