First of all: what about those antibodies again? When you become infected, you produce antibodies that fight the virus. It takes about a week for that reaction to get going.
Clean up virus
A vaccine, on the other hand, ensures that your body is already familiar with the virus. A vaccine contains small, harmless components of the virus. They are so minimal that you normally do not get the real disease, but your immune system will work with them. When you become infected, your body immediately produces antibodies that clean up the virus.
A virus particle can only do something if it can enter a body cell, Anke Huckriede, vaccinologist at the UMCG, previously told RTL News. “So the antibodies have to bind to the surface of the virus and thus block the virus so that it does not enter a cell.”
Also check out: how safe is a superfast corona vaccine?
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Research by the RIVM has now shown that nine out of ten people who have been infected with the corona virus, six months later still have antibodies against the virus in the blood. These become stronger over time, so that fewer antibodies are needed for the same effect.
RIVM researcher Fiona van der Klis: “Although we do not know how many antibodies are needed to no longer be or become infected with the corona virus, the fact that we were able to demonstrate antibodies so long after the first infection, it means that body could recognize the virus. “
Sticking
According to Van der Klis, the fact that the antibodies are getting stronger means that they can bind better to the virus to fight it. “Think of a magnet with paper clips attached: the stronger the magnet, the stronger the paper clips will stick to it. That also happens with antibodies, which become stronger.”
With the coronavirus, it is not yet entirely clear to what extent people who have ever been infected with the virus are then protected against it, and for how long.
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Back to the question: if you have produced antibodies because you have been infected, is it still necessary to get vaccinated? In vaccination strategy presented by the cabinet last week, it says that people who have already had an infection will also be offered a shot. “People from these groups are not excluded from vaccination because re-infections are possible,” it says.
Immunologist Marjolein van Egmond (Amsterdam UMC) previously told RTL Nieuws about this: “If you already receive the vaccine a month after having had corona, it makes little sense, because then you still have a lot of antibodies. But if you have a year you have had corona before, you probably already have fewer antibodies to be sure of getting a vaccine.”
It can’t hurt anyway, says Van Egmond: “The immune system works in such a way that if you are exposed twice, it only gets stronger.” With some vaccines, at least two vaccinations in a year are already necessary for the desired effect.
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