[ad_1]
For research, it is clear: without effective vaccination, the coronavirus will keep the world busy for a long time. It is questionable that natural herd immunity arises when as many people as possible have Covid 19 disease.
Researcher Peter Wick (49) from the Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt (Empa), where he directs the Laboratory for Particle Interactions and Biology in St. Gallen, agrees. His team was involved in a corresponding antibody study: The blood values of 160 people with a confirmed but fairly mild course of Covid-19 were examined over a twelve-week period.
It’s not about “herd immunity”
The troubling result: “The immune response to the virus declined just five weeks after infection,” says Wick in an interview posted on the Empa website. In men, immunity decreased significantly faster than in women.
For Wick it is clear: if you are again susceptible to the coronavirus two months after an infection, there can be no “herd immunity”. “A broad protection of the population on the basis of people who have gone through an infection and are therefore immune, then there could not be.”
Just short vaccination protection?
What the researcher also noted based on the study results: “Based on our data, it is conceivable that a Covid vaccine offers only relatively short-term protection.” But that also depends on the type of vaccine and the interval between booster shots. Basically, however, a vaccine should provide protection that lasts as long as possible. Therefore, the results of the study are crucial for the future vaccination strategy.
“We only know the ultimate test of how long an effect lasts when we start vaccinating,” Wick added to VIEW. You think multiple vaccinations may be necessary. “Even with hepatitis, three doses of vaccine are needed at intervals for protection to work long-term.”
At best, the protective effect of the vaccine also depends on the respective group of people or genetic conditions. “We still don’t know if a vaccine works differently for Europeans, Asians or Americans or not.” For example, an Icelandic study showed that the immune reaction lasted a good four months.
Expand the St. Gallen study
To gain better insight, the St. Gallen study will continue and expand. “We only looked at one subpopulation,” says Wick. “We still don’t know how it behaves, for example, with Covid patients without symptoms or with severe symptoms.” A comprehensive database is important to define the future vaccination strategy.
The current study has “shown a first trend”, now they want to take a closer look at immune reactions, to be able to draw conclusions about age areas or risk groups. Or to clarify specific questions, for example, why in isolated couples one party becomes seriously ill with Covid and the other does not.
“For personalized medicine, screening subpopulations of infected people is an important aspect,” says Wick. “Vaccination strategies could therefore look different for different patients or groups of patients.”
Wick assumes the vaccination strategy will cause a lot of discussion. “Just as we were concerned about the mask issue this year, we will address the vaccination issue next year, as soon as the first products are on the market.”
