Everyone knows the virus primarily spreads through respiratory droplets and that people with immunocompromised conditions or underlying medical health are more at risk for developing severe symptoms.
Some evidence also indicates that people infected with COVID-19 tend to develop immunity against the virus, although there is no absolute clarity on how long this persists.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Dr. William Schaffner says it can be challenging to say how long the immunity developed from the natural infection will exist and whether it would be effective against other variants.
The onset of Omicron and its cousins has compelled researchers and scientists to reconsider their stand.
More research can be necessary. Still, some opine that natural immunity can stay for two to three months, while others uphold it can work for longer.
Nevertheless, understanding immunity is critical in the fight against COVID-19. It can prove effective in preventing and treating the virus.
In the meantime, people with weak immunity and other medical histories must take extra precautions to avoid exposure to the virus.
Everyone should continue practicing good respiratory and hand hygiene. Everyone is working at their level to defeat this constantly mutating virus; hence, it’s wise not to let your guards down.
In this context, many countries, including the US, proposed the concept of immunity passports to trace contacts and minimize the risk of spread.
The proposal became integral to the reopening policy but raised many eyebrows for legal and privacy aspects.
Immunity passports are nothing but a type of credential that an infected person can carry with them after they’ve healed and had negative test results.
The passport may also contain vaccine status, and all this information can be available in smartphone apps. Of course, some people found it to be a good idea, while others opposed it. This trend has been there with overall COVID-19 measures.
As per the MyBioSource survey, if states like Iowa, New Jersey, and Vermont showed 40-50% support for COVID regulations, others, including West Virginia and South Dakota, seemed to have less or no faith in them.
Anyway, immunity is everything to fight disease and stay healthy. So, let’s delve into this in connection with COVID-19 a bit.
Natural immunity after COVID-19
Some believe one can become permanently immune to coronavirus after the infection, just like measles.
But experts urge people to understand that every virus is unique and that COVID-19 protection goes down after some time.
However, if someone gets the virus, the immune system stores the memory of the pathogen and combats it on reencountering.
The National Institutes of HealthTrusted Source says that immunity protects a person from disease and its severity by doing this.
After recovering from coronavirus, an individual develops four components: antibodies, helper and killer T cells, and B cells.
Antibodies exist in the blood and can locate viruses and defuse them. Helper T cells can identify them and the killer cells destroy them.
Likewise, B cells help with the production of much-needed new antibodies.
All these play different functions, but there is a need for more profound studies to comprehend their relation with immune response.
BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants and immunity
CDC informed when these two sub lineages of the virus had become rampant in the US in June 2022.
Harvard Medical School’s observation revealed that vaccination and immunity developed from the previous COVID infection don’t protect much against them, unlike they protected against the original viral strain.
But a non-peer Qatar-based study elicited that immunity built from the prior Omicron infection provided 80% efficacy against reinfection risks from the latest subvariants.
Harvard’s researchers, however, hold that vaccines can still be protective against the severity caused by BA.4 or BA.5.
CDC also echoed the same view when it mentioned that vaccines and boosters could offer safety from severe illnesses caused by the current BA.5 variant.
Vaccine-led immunity and virus
In the US, four vaccines are prevalent – Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech, Novavax, and Moderna.
However, Johnson & Johnson has limited use due to certain risk factors, as per the CDC.
CDC reported that Moderna (94%) and Pfizer (95%) mRNA vaccines showed high efficacy during the testing phase, and they continue to offer that in real-time by protecting recipients by over 90%.
A fully vaccinated body develops B and T cells that destroy the virus when encountering it. These vaccine-induced cells work the same way as they do in the case of natural immunity.
One of the studies shows that a combination of vaccination and recovery from infection can protect someone for over a year.
As per CDC’s 2022 report, slightly more than 78% of people took their first vaccine dose, and nearly 60% of grownups and 75% of kids had exposure to the virus.
Regardless of the situation, it is undeniable that COVID is still around; hence, it is necessary to safeguard one’s health and well-being.
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