Posted on 01/17/2021 7:06:20 PM PST by SeekAndFind
All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been a push to develop and roll out a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
If scientists and health professionals can do that quickly, and while we slow the spread of the disease, it’s believed that we can limit deaths by achieving herd immunity.
While scientists have been working hard on many fronts to understand the virus and develop controls for it, there’s still much we don’t know about immunity after recovery from COVID-19, including how long it lasts.
Knowing how long immunity lasts is important in creating vaccination protocols.
According to Lauren Rodda, PhD, a senior postdoctoral fellow in immunology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, we don’t know for certain if people are immune to reinfection simply because not enough studies have been done yet.
“This would require tracking the re-exposure of a significant number of people and determining if they get sick,” she said.
Our knowledge in this area continues to grow, however, as new studies are conducted.
Most recently, a study published in the journal Science has found that immunity can last for as long as 8 months.
According to Shane Crotty, PhD, a professor at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology who co-led the study, his team measured all four components of immune memory:
This is the largest study ever for any acute infection that has measured all four of these components, he said.
The researchers found that these four factors persisted for at least 8 months following infection with the virus.
This is important because this shows that the body can “remember” the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If it encounters the virus again, the memory B cells can quickly gear up and produce antibodies to fight the re-infection.
Those who have recovered from COVID-19 could have immunity against reinfection for months, or perhaps even years, the authors said.
Prior to this latest study, Rodda said that work had been done by her research team, as well as others, showing that antibodies against the virus are maintained for at least 3 months.
In her team’s study in particular, it was shown that this occurs even in people who have mild symptoms.
Their study also suggested that immunity could last much longer.
In a different study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers in Iceland studied 1,107 people who had recovered from COVID-19 and tested positive for the antiviral antibodies.
Over a 4-month period of time, they found that those antiviral antibodies against COVID-19 had not declined.
In addition, a study published in the journal Immunity found that people who recover from even mild cases of COVID-19 produce antibodies that are believed to protect against infection for at least 5 to 7 months, and could last much longer.
Their team has tested nearly 30,000 people in Arizona since they began on April 30, shortly after they developed a blood test for coronavirus.
However, Dr. Steven Sperber, interim chief of the division of infectious diseases at Hackensack University Medical Center, pointed out that there’s still “much” that experts don’t know about SARS-CoV-2 because it’s such a new coronavirus.
He said that among those questions remaining to be answered are:
Sperber further advised that until we do understand more, it’s best to continue to take precautions, such as physical distancing and mask-wearing, even after you recover.
Sperber said that, at this time, we don’t really know if having a positive antibody test means that you’re immune to the virus.
The presence of antibodies only means that you’ve been exposed in the past.
Sperber explained that, for some infections, antibodies may provide protection against reinfection.
For others, they may not prevent reinfection, but symptoms may be milder.
In yet other cases, antibodies may provide no protection at all.
In addition, some test results may be “false positives”: A person may have been exposed to a similar virus that’s also detected by the test, but these antibodies aren’t protective from the new coronavirus.
Finally, he said, we don’t know at this point how long any protection achieved might last.
According to Rodda, “herd immunity is the concept that if enough people are protected from infection, either by gaining immunity from having the infection or receiving a vaccine, then the chance of a nonimmune person contracting the disease is exceedingly low.”
“This is important because there are people in our communities (babies, the elderly, people who have weakened immune systems) that cannot get immunized and they must rely on the rest of us taking precautions to protect them,” she said.
However, Rodda added, it would be a bad idea to simply allow the disease to spread unchecked in an effort to reach herd immunity more quickly.
“COVID-19 can be fatal in any age group,” she said, “and the cost to human life is appallingly unacceptable.”
A vaccine is the ideal way to achieve herd immunity, according to Rodda.
Sperber agreed with Rodda that a vaccine is the best path forward, adding that widespread use of vaccines is key.
“Underutilization of effective vaccines can prevent the development of herd immunity and result in continued spread of infection,” he said.
Experts say the best way forward with COVID-19 is to develop and roll out an effective vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
A vaccine will help us control the virus by creating herd immunity.
Understanding how our immune system responds to the virus is an important step in vaccine development.
While there’s much we don’t know yet, it appears we may develop immunity to the virus for at least 8 months.
Currently, there are two vaccines authorized for use in the United States: those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
Several other promising vaccines are in development, but until they’re available, we must practice precautions like physical distancing and mask-wearing to keep transmission down.
” We don’t know. We think maybe... possibly... We will know more maybe later.
So....from biology class in 10th grade in 1976, once you got a virus and got over it, you had immunity.
Now you get a virus and it only lasts 8 months.
Either they were lying then, or they are lying now. Since everything it politicized, I will go with lying now.
Screw this stupid bug Screw it ! It’s just the flu bro !
Last reports showed 3 people worldwide allegedly infected twice after having the virus once, a single man in Nevada in the US.
In the documentation on that Nevada case, they use the word “seemingly” to describe the infection, as in “seemingly infected a 2nd time.”
There is no scientific basis whatsoever for this short-term immunity horseshit and I’ll be hard pressed not to throat punch the next SOB who tosses that crap back at me.
The true pandemic is not borne of SARS-CoV-2: It’s Dumbassavirus. Viral stupidity, in part due to fear, in part due to media & government, in part due to individual biases.
They’re all dumbasses to me and can drop dead at this point.
Right there you knew this was just some meathead repeating worthless talking points.
My body is - figuratively speaking - seething with virus-killing antibodies.
Why should I have to wear a mask?
Regards,
Good point. I wonder why health experts never mention that?
Then again, they may eventually say you don’t need a mask as long as you carry your vaccine passport. And of course they will be able to stop you and check for your passport at any time.
100% correct.
This is my first day free of the 14 day quarantine, I had tested positive. The Health Dept has ‘officially’ released me. I asked them if I could get the virus again, they said yes. However rare you may or may not. You may have a mild case or you can die. On and on with uncertainties. They just DON’T know. Proves your point.
It's raciss! to require photo ID to vote, but it's apparently not to require me to present a vaccine passport to buy a jelly donut at a bakery.
Go figure!
Regards,
How Long Does Immunity Vaccine Last After COVID-19? What We Know If You Survive The Shot.
So, the chances of my dying upon first contracting Covid-19 are 0.03%.
And the chances of my contracting Covid-19 a second time are "extremely low."
And the chances of my then dying upon contracting Covid-19 a second time are probably likewise as low or even lower than when contracting it the first time...
So, we're talking about a probability of 0.03% X 0.1% X 0.03%?!
That would be a probability of 3 X 10-11 = thirty in a trillion!
Regards,
Sorry, that should have been: 9 X 10-11 = ninety in a trillion!
Regards,
We had Covid in December & my family doctor refuses to say how long we might be immune, if at all. He hates Hydroxychloroquine for Covid so I’m assuming he’s brainwashed by CNN.
Today is my first day off a 14 day quarantine. I had absolutely NO symptoms at all. The Health Dept called me every three days to see if I was feeling well. The only way I new I was positive is by their phone call telling me so. The only way they knew was, that I contracted it from my girlfriend who had it in a bad way. Go figure.
It the sniffles. Harmless to 98% of the population. Harmless to 100% of children.
How long before counterfeit vaccine passports appear on the black market?
“It’s just the flu bro !”
It’s something different. Maybe biological warfare.
I’ve known a few people who got it and lost their senses of smell and taste for several days.
I’ve never heard of the flu doing that.
I had symptoms but nothing serious. That’s amazing you had none.
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