Natural Covid infection produces stronger secondary immune response than vaccine, study finds

Natural Covid infection produces a stronger secondary immune response than vaccine, study finds.

Important components of the body’s immune response, called memory B cells, continue to evolve and grow stronger for at least several months, producing very powerful antibodies that can neutralize new variants of the virus.

In comparison, the memory B cells induced by the vaccine are less robust, evolving for only a few weeks and never “learning” to protect against the variants.

Covid vaccines induce more antibodies than the immune system after coronavirus infection.

But the immune system’s response to infection appears to surpass its response to vaccines when it comes to memory B cells.

If the effect is replicated in children who are unlikely to develop symptoms of Covid, this suggests that they may be better protected by natural immunity than by vaccination.

Whether antibodies are induced by an infection or a vaccine, their levels drop within six months in many people.

But memory B cells are ready to make new antibodies if the body encounters the virus.

Prior to this study, there was little data on how vaccine-induced B cells compared to infection-induced B cells.

Researchers warn that the benefits of stronger memory B cells after infection do not outweigh the risks from Covid.

“While a natural infection can induce the maturation of antibodies with broader activity than a vaccine, a natural infection can also kill you,” said study leader Michel Nussenzweig of Rockefeller University, in a statement.

“A vaccine won’t do that and, in fact, protects against the risk of serious illness or death from infection.”

It comes after a separate study showed that the Delta variant does not appear to cause more serious illness in children than earlier forms of the virus.

Researchers lacked information on differences between the groups that might have influenced the results, such as whether closures were in place and the effects of different seasons.

“Our data suggests that the clinical characteristics of Covid due to the Delta variant in children are broadly similar to those of Covid due to other variants,” the researchers concluded.

This seems to agree with data reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Although we are seeing more cases in children… these studies have shown that there is no increase in the severity of the disease in children,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, about the wave caused by Delta in a statement.

“More children have Covid because there is more disease in the community.”