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Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

nature.com

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Re: Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

#31

Post by olivierlacan »

andy_ppp wrote: post #24

Does anyone know if PCR tests will find out if you've had the virus, after you had the vaccine?

PCR tests don't detect antibodies, they detect active virus. Antibody tests may be what you're thinking of.

See: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/coronavirus-d...

I don't know the answer to your question, but it would make sense unless the antibody test(s) look for a specific type of antibody to COVID-19 that is produced naturally when infected and not just any antibodies that might be produced when vaccinated.

Re: Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

#33

Post by postalrat »

fortran77 wrote: post #15
tomp wrote: post #5

> The study provides evidence that immunity triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection will be extraordinarily long-lasting. Does it? I think this pop-science article overly simplifies antibodies and immunity... I'm no doctor myself, but as was explained to me by my doctor friends (who however are not specialists in this subtopic either), there's many different layers to the immune system. It's entirely possible to have antib…

I don't think _Nature_ is considered "Pop Science".

When they say thing you don't agree with it most certainly is.

Re: Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

#34

Post by drno123 »

baybal2 wrote: post #13
myth_drannon wrote: post #10

What happened in Manaus/Brazil(high re-infection rate even after the city reached herd immunity) shows that's not that simple and they clearly state it "though viral variants could dampen some of the protection they offer"

Very much it. Getting influenza antibodies once only protects you for that season, until a new strain emerges few months down the line.

But influenza virus mutates much more quickly than Sars-cov-2.

Re: Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

#35

Post by swiley »

drno123 wrote: post #34
baybal2 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very much it. Getting influenza antibodies once only protects you for that season, until a new strain emerges few months down the line.

But influenza virus mutates much more quickly than Sars-cov-2.

"mutates" is probably the wrong word. My understanding is that it combines different genes. That's why the names for different flue viruses always contain numbers: to indicate which forms of the different proteins the genes are expressing.

Re: Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

#36

Post by Sharlin »

Closi wrote: post #11
afavour wrote: post #9

I’m personally sceptical of putting too much faith in this, we’ve already seen a number of variants. Over my lifetime? Who knows what mutations we’ll see.

Hopefully the mutations will slow over time - the mutations at the moment may be the 'easy' ones.

The various non-novel corona- and rhinoviruses that cause common cold don't seem to have had any problems playing catch with the human immune system for who knows how many thousand years. SARS-CoV-2 is probably more likely than not to just become a new member of the family of "domestic" human pathogens that we learn to live with.

Re: Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

#37

Post by toolz »

baybal2 wrote: post #13
myth_drannon wrote: post #10

What happened in Manaus/Brazil(high re-infection rate even after the city reached herd immunity) shows that's not that simple and they clearly state it "though viral variants could dampen some of the protection they offer"

Very much it. Getting influenza antibodies once only protects you for that season, until a new strain emerges few months down the line.

influenza mutates much faster than the covid family [1] - looking at the other coronavirus family there is plenty of reason to have expectations that this will become an endemic mild seasonal cold. The most similar coronaviruses provide life long immunity (please don't mistake immunity as being unable to experience symptoms, just means bad clinical outcomes will likely plummet due to immune system recognition) [2]

[1] https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/06/10/sars-cov-2-dna-suggests-singl... [2]https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.17.423313v1....

Re: Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

#38

Post by GeekyBear »

jokowueu wrote: post #6
XorNot wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably that the vaccine is somewhat irrelevant: though that's up for grabs since what your body targets vs. what the vaccine targets will be subtly different. I'm more interested that this means that quite likely, COVID-19 will be eradicated: with not many advantageous mutation pathways, and if vaccines are conferring immunity forever, it's pretty much going to be burned out of the population one way or the other.

>with not many advantageous mutation pathways I was under the impression that any mutations to the spike proteins would make the current vaccines useless and would require changes to the vaccines just like the flu shot . Isn't this the case ?

>I was under the impression that any mutations to the spike proteins would make the current vaccines useless and would require changes to the vaccines just like the flu shot . Isn't this the case ?

No, it is not the case.

You don't just make one antibody that targets the entire spike that would be thrown off by a mutation.

>Human Antibodies Target Many Parts of Coronavirus Spike Protein

https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2021/05/18/human-antibodies-ta...

So far, all the claims that a variant (London variant, South African variant, Indian variant) would be immune to the current vaccine have turned out to be unwarranted.

Re: Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

#39

Post by amarant »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #23
MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #21

I know two people who had covid and who right now have a second covid infection by the british mutation. One of them also had their first vaccination.

I don't really believe stories on the internet. There's a lot of context missing. Like the fact that 3% of the population are hypochondriacs.

It's still anecdotal, but my cousin's wife who is a nurse also had covid twice, both of them confirmed infections(as in, she tested positive), the second one was after she'd received her first shot(not sure which vaccine, but one of the 2-dose ones)

I have no clue if they were different variants or what caused her to not be immune, or how unlucky she were(this might be exceedingly rare) but for me it's been a good anecdote to tell people who think they don't need the vaccine because they already had covid.

Get vaccinated!

Re: Had Covid? You’ll probably make antibodies for a lifetime

#40

Post by heyflyguy »

I am being shunned by my family because of my lack of interest in the vaccine. I've had COVID and recovered. I also don't get a flu shot each year. I really like not putting things into my body, especially when year after year I may or may not "catch" these things but if I do, I always recover. I act responsibly and do not go out when I am sick.

However, none of these facts or articles such as this will ever effectively challenge the "get the vaccine or you are a bad citizen and will kill everyone" emotional arguments that are out there.

I have continuously been near or around folks that have come down with Covid and have yet to encounter a second infection or positive test since my initial infection. I look forward to when greater fact-based realities start to take hold again.

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