Vaccinated people who had recovered from Covid-19 may be immune for years: Study

A new research has found that people who got vaccinated after recovering from Covid-19 infection, are more likely to have strong natural immunity that would protect them from emerging variants for years to come. Researchers at the Rockefeller University in the US analysed antibodies present in the blood of Covid patients, tracking the evolution of these molecules. According to the study, these people may not even need vaccine boosters to stay protected long term.

The 63 people in the study, which has not been peer-reviewed yet, had Covid in the spring of last year. Data from their follow-ups show that, over time, antibodies produced by the immune system’s memory B cells got better at neutralising SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

The memory B cells serve as an immune reservoir that contains a diverse collection of antibodies. According to the researchers, these potent antibodies are produced by groups of highly evolved memory B cells, which expand dramatically after a nudge by the vaccines. The study suggests that these people were developing an improved, long lasting defence against the virus. The researchers found that these antibodies were further enhanced among 26 people in the group who had received at least one dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. This subset of people developed antibodies that are exceptionally resistant to the most concerning SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as those first isolated in the UK, South Africa, and New York City in the US.

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Protection may be different for people who got vaccinated but never had COVID-19, Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University in New York, told The New York Times. The immune system responds differently to vaccines than it does to natural infection, so they might need boosters against variants — even if they have strong and long-lasting protection against the original coronavirus strain