Depending on how they first came into contact with the coronavirus, Americans this fall may respond differently to the most recent COVID-19 immunizations.
Different levels of immunity have been developed in towns and cities around the country as a result of the initial vaccinations, booster shots, prior infections, and other factors. According to The Washington Post, how people react to new vaccinations and variants will likely depend on the strain of the virus they were initially exposed to.
The professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine, John Moore, PhD, told the newspaper that “there are no pre-packaged solutions here.”
“Having an Omicron infection after immunisation doesn’t always imply you won’t acquire another one later on,” he said. “How much longer is down the road?”
The idea, which the scientific community refers to as “original antigenic sin,” states that a first exposure can influence subsequent bodily reactions. Different immune systems are responding, raising concerns about re-infections, updated booster doses, and defence against novel strains.
Positively, the theory explains why vaccines based on the original coronavirus strain continue to save people from serious illness and hospitalisation, according to the newspaper.
Because people’s immune systems are concentrated on the initial exposure to the virus, whether by infection or vaccination, it may also imply that the most recent fall booster injections will have limited effects.
Barney Graham, MD, who has worked on coronavirus vaccines and is currently focused on global health equality at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, told the Post that “we may have gotten about as much advantage out of the vaccine, at this moment, as we can get.”
According to Graham, the current vaccines are keeping people out of hospitals and doing their jobs. There will be some advantages from updated immunizations, though they might be modest.
To better match prevalent strains, he said, “We can adjust it and perhaps evolve it.” It will only have a very slight, cumulative effect.
