[ad_1]
The Biden administration announced in August that COVID-19 vaccine boosters would soon be made available to the general public. But since then, a new debate has started over whether or not all fully vaccinated people need additional vaccines eight months after their last dose due to waning immunity. Growing evidence suggests that many of those who have received all the necessary injections of the vaccine are highly protected against hospitalization or death from the disease, even in the face of the highly contagious Delta variant. But now, a new study has found that the Moderna vaccine generates a particularly strong immune response, potentially meaning those who initially received it are protected longer than originally thought.
RELATED: Moderna Just Made This Major Announcement About Its COVID Vaccine.
The latest findings, published in the journal Science on September 14, come from a team of researchers from the La Jolla Institute of Immunology (LJI) who set out to study the duration of immunity against COVID-19 in patients receiving the modern mRNA vaccine at different dosage levels. The team compared the immune responses seen in recovered COVID patients with those who received two 25 microgram (mg) injections of the vaccine 28 days apart, which is a quarter of the 100 mg doses currently given by injections. , during phase one clinical trials.
The team found that even the lowest dose generated strong responses of CD4 + T cells (helper), CD8 + T cells (killer) and antibodies for at least six months after the administration of the second injection. They concluded that the immune response would likely last much longer beyond the initial window, with data showing that all age groups saw sustained immune memory, even those in the highly vulnerable demographic of 70 and older.
“This moment is critical because it is at this moment that the true immune memory is formed”, Daniela Weiskopf, PhD, co-lead of the study and assistant research professor at LJI, said in a statement.
“The immune memory was stable, and it was impressive”, Shane Crotty, PhD, co-lead of LJI’s study, added. “It is a good indicator of the durability of mRNA vaccines.” Still, he noted that the results still cannot determine whether a lower dose provides the same level of protection as those currently administered, saying that “it would take a clinical trial” to determine actual effectiveness.
RELATED: Dr. Fauci Warns You Not To Do This If You Have Moderna.
The recently published results appear to add to a growing body of evidence from other researchers that Moderna injections generate a stronger immune response. One such study published on August 16 in JAMA Internal Medicine analyzed the vaccine response in more than 950 health workers from the John Hopkins Health System. The results revealed that those who received Moderna developed more advanced IgG antibodies than those who received Pfizer.
And even beyond the antibody response generated, recent research from the Mayo Clinic has also shown just how much more protective Moderna can be than Pfizer. According to the study, which was preprinted on August 8 on medRxiv, people who received Moderna’s vaccine had a two-fold reduction in the risk of breakthrough infection compared to those who received Pfizer injections.
RELATED: For more up to date information, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
“Our observational study highlights that while the two COVID-19 mRNA vaccines provide strong protection against serious disease and infection, further evaluation of the mechanisms underlying the differences in efficacy, such as dosing regimens and composition vaccine, is warranted, ”the Mayo Clinic researchers concluded.
The LJI team has announced plans to continue research that will help determine how well other types of vaccines protect against COVID-19. But for now, Weiskopf notes that real-world data shows that currently available shots appear to maintain their effectiveness over time. “People in hospitals are the ones who are not vaccinated,” she said.
RELATED: If You’re Over 60, This Is How A Pfizer Booster Protects You, Study Finds.
[ad_2]
Source link