Do you have an advantage? What the “Corona superimmunity” is all about

“So it is possible that the virus will develop further and escape most of our antibodies, but the genetic barrier to this is quite high,” commented researcher Paul Bieniasz on the result. There was one exception, however: the patients who had recovered from COVID-19 prior to a vaccination had special antibodies that even act against the super virus and were able to neutralize the cultivated spike mutation. The immunity of people who have recovered from COVID in the past year and later with mRNA vaccines are impressively broad“, explains Paul Bieniasz.” This shows us that the natural infection or the vaccines lead to immunity, but in no way exhaust the human immune system’s ability to fight off this virus. “

According to the researchers, people who have had both an illness and a vaccination had an above-average number of strong antibodies. The research team at Rockefeller University had already determined in advance that antibodies produced remain in the body for several months after an infection and can develop further. This enables the antibodies to bind to the spike proteins even better. In combination with mRNA vaccines, these antibodies could be further enhanced. According to experts, this development is due to so-called “memory B cells” of the immune system.

Coronavirus Immunity: The Role of Plasmablasts and Memory B Cells

After an infection or vaccination, most of the antibodies come from so-called plasmablasts. However, plasmablasts are very short-lived cells that will die off again as soon as the antibody level drops. After the plasmablasts die, all antibodies come from the much rarer memory B cells. They are then the main source of antibodies. “Some of the memory B cells produce higher quality antibodies than plasmablasts“says Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at the Rockefeller Institute.” This is because they develop in the so-called lymph nodes and acquire mutations that help them to bind more closely to the spike protein over time. Those cells that have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 and come into contact with the spike protein of the virus would then become these cells activate and produce highly effective antibodies.

According to the researchers, vaccination has a positive effect on the number and ability of antibodies, for example. This would allow them to cope with a particularly large number of virus variants. Because: The viruses are bound to the actual sequence. “Antibodies from this group of people are incredibly strong and flexible,” says Hatziioannou, who also led the study. “It is likely that they offer protection against future SARS-CoV-2 variants and possibly against future coronavirus pandemics,” added the researcher. “This has an impact on booster vaccinations and how our immune responses are prepared for the next variant that emerges,” said Mehul Suthar, a virologist at Emory University in Atlanta. The researchers’ studies also showed that the “B memory cells” are much more likely to produce antibodies against the immune-weakening variants “Beta” and “Delta”.

Ali Ellebedy, B-cell immunologist at Washington University, did not come as a surprise that those who had recovered and were subsequently vaccinated did so well in the studies. “It is not surprising that infected and vaccinated people react well. We are comparing someone who started a race four months ago with someone who just started.” Because: There are already indications that people who have been vaccinated twice can produce a similar immune response. This “super immunity” has been investigated in several studies. However, those who were only vaccinated were not observed for as long as those who had already had COVID-19.

Vaccinated persons should also achieve the “gold standard” of immunity

Immunologist John Wherry from the University of Pennsylvania, together with his colleagues, found indications that after six months after vaccination, the number of memory B cells in the vaccinated would continue to increase. “The reality is that vaccinated people have a pool of high-quality memory B-cells that you will protect if they ever come into contact with this antigen again,” explains immunologist Rishi Goel, also an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania. With a third dose of vaccine, people who were not infected could gain the same hybrid immunity, “confirms Matthieu Mahvas, immunologist at the Necker Institute in Paris. His team of researchers was able to detect memory B cells in vaccinated people just two months after vaccination who were able to detect beta and delta mutations. “If you add to this pool, you can imagine generating strong neutralizing antibodies against the variants,” says Mahvas. Another way of achieving so-called “hybrid immunity” could be In a test from Canada, where the interval between vaccinations was extended to 16 weeks, a similar SARS-CoV-2 antibody level was found in those involved as in people with a hybrid Immunity.

The experts state: “We want to bring vaccinated people to a level of protection that is similar to that of previously infected and vaccinated people. That is our gold standard.” Because the highly contagious Delta variant hoofed vaccination breakthroughs, researchers like Nussenzweig now want to examine primarily people who have been infected after a COVID-19 vaccination. Despite the potential benefits of hybrid immunity, experts warn against underestimating the dangers of SARS-CoV-2 infection. “It is our goal to avoid this infection. Nobody should get infected and then get vaccinated to get a good immune response,” warns Andrs Finzi, a virologist at the University of Montreal. “Because some will not survive this procedure.”