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Hidden immunity: Why booster jabs may not be needed after all
Studies suggest people may not require a third vaccination despite falling antibody levels among the elderlyAnyone keeping an eye on coronavirus antibody levels in Britain may have noticed an alarming trend in recent months.
Since peaking in May, the percentage of older people who are testing positive for protective antibodies has been steadily declining. It rose to 95 per cent for the over-80s, and has now fallen to 92.4.
In fact, only the under-50s are not seeing a drop in antibody levels, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This signal of waning immunity has led to calls for booster jabs ahead of a winter wave.
But several studies have come out in the last few months that suggest we might not need to be too worried after all. Antibodies are not the only indicator of immunity.
In May, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, who studied 77 recovering Covid patients found that while antibodies declined over time, bone marrow plasma cells, capable of producing antibodies against the virus, remained stable.
Dialed-down protection could last a lifetime
It means that people who have recovered from an infection have immunity hidden away in their bones ready to spring into action. This type of dialed-down protection could last decades, or even a lifetime, the researchers believe.The team also found patients were carrying memory B-cells - a type of white blood cell - which patrols the blood looking for the virus.
In fact, the researchers noted that the levels of B-cells found in recovered Covid-19 patients are equal to people vaccinated against tetanus or diphtheria, both vaccines that provide long-term immunity to those diseases.
Similarly, researchers from The Rockefeller University, New York, recently found that recovered Covid patients still have immunity a year after infection, including antibodies that were "exceptionally resistant" to variants.
“The data suggest that immunity in convalescent individuals will be very long lasting and that convalescent individuals who receive available mRNA vaccines will produce antibodies and memory B-cells that should be protective against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants,” the researchers concluded.
The problem with only looking at antibodies is it gives a false picture of the level of protection. The body is efficient, and will not continue to produce high-levels of antibodies when they are no longer needed.
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