Thread by @VincentRK

1/ When you get vaccinated you don’t make just one type of antibody. You make a whole portfolio of antibodies against various epitopes. So unless there is a huge number of mutations, vaccines will protect you, especially from severe disease. #VaccinesWork #Covid_19

2/ You not only make matching keys to fit multiple locks when all you need is to open just one lock, but you also make multiple slightly different keys for each lock in the process of making the perfect key. All of this redundancy is why vaccines work even if the virus mutates.

3/ The sheer number of COVID infections in such a short period of time, and the lack of significant pre existing immunity means a lot more viral replications, & a lot more opportunities for mutations to arise. Not every mutation will change the behavior of the virus. But some do.

4/ The solutions are

a) vaccinate as many people as possible in as short of a time frame as possible, and
b)continue protective measures to limit spread particularly masks and social distancing.

5/ Once we reach herd immunity we will be able to relax. But it’s important to be focused and patient now. This is doable.

6/ Couple other points to note:

a) in addition to antibodies we also generate T cells which also help confer immunity & work in concert with antibodies.

b) antibody titers ≠ level of immunity. Immunity to severe COVID will likely persist even if titers go down with time.

7/ There are memory cells generated which are long lived & can spring into action and generate new antibodies if they encounter this virus in the future.

The durability can only be answered with time. No amount of lab work can reliably answer that. I’m hoping for the best.