Thread by @DrDenaGrayson

👏🏼GREAT NEWS👏🏼

2 new studies show that immunity to the #coronavirus lasts at least a year—possibly a lifetime—and improves over time especially after #COVIDVaccination.

**This does NOT mean that people who have been infected can skip vaccines**.🧵

nytimes.com/2021/05/26/hea…

Researchers studied people infected with the #coronavirus about a year earlier. B-cells with a memory of the virus persist in the bone marrow & can make antibodies when needed. These memory B cells continue to mature & STRENGTHEN for at least 12 months after the 1st infection.🤗

The studies suggest that most people who have recovered from #COVID19 and were later immunized may have "bulletproof" protection *against #coronavirus variants* & may not need boosters.

People vaccinated but never infected most likely will need booster shots for new variants.💉

https://twitter.com/drdenagrayson/status/1397891398704193537

Links to the reports:

@Nature (Dr. @prestirwustled1 is a former colleague of mine at @WUSTLmed)👉🏼nature.com/articles/s4158…

@biorxivpreprint👉🏼biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

https://twitter.com/drdenagrayson/status/1397891398704193537

Dr. @scotthensley: the research “suggests that immunity elicited by infection & vaccination for #SARSCoV2 appears to be long-lived. The reason we get infected with common coronaviruses repetitively...might have much more to do with variation of these viruses rather than immunity”

Memory B cells produced in response to infection with #SARSCoV2 and enhanced with vaccination are so potent that they thwart even variants of the virus, negating the need for boosters.

The key is to #GetVaccinated!💉

Dr. Michel @NussenzweigL: “People who were infected AND #GetVaccinated really have a terrific response, a terrific set of antibodies, because they continue to evolve their antibodies.”

People who have NOT had #COVID19 and have been immunized may eventually need a booster shot.💉

https://twitter.com/DrDenaGrayson/status/1397892597763485699

People who #GetVaccinated but have NOT had #COVID19 may need boosters against new #coronavirus variants, because immune memory is likely to be organized differently after immunization vs. that following natural infection.🦠🧬

https://twitter.com/drdenagrayson/status/1397897859152891908

When first encountering a virus, B cells rapidly proliferate and make large amounts of antibodies. Once the acute infection is resolved, a small number of memory B cells move to the bone marrow, steadily pumping out low levels of antibodies and providing long-lasting immunity.🧬

https://twitter.com/drdenagrayson/status/1397891398704193537

.@WUSTLmed researchers Ali Ellebedy @prestirwustled1 & others analyzed memory B cells to the #coronavirus from 77 people at 3-month intervals starting ~1 month after infection. Only 6 of 77 had been hospitalized for #COVID19—the rest had mild symptoms.🦠

nature.com/articles/s4158…

Antibody levels dropped rapidly 4 months after infection and continued to decline slowly for months—exactly as expected.

Blood levels of antibodies typically fall sharply following acute infection, while memory B cells remain in the bone marrow, ready to take action when needed.

https://twitter.com/drdenagrayson/status/1397900725334781952

The @WUSTLmed team got bone marrow samples from 19 of the 77 people ~7 months after #coronavirus infection. 15 had detectable memory B cells, but 4 did not—meaning some might retain very few memory B cells—or NONE—after natural infection.

It’s important to #GetVaccinated!💉

The @NussenzweigL team studied how memory B cells mature over time & analyzed blood from 63 people who had #COVID19 ~1 year before. The vast majority had mild symptoms—26 had also received at least one dose of either the Moderna or the Pfizer-BioNTech #CovidVaccine.🔬

Neutralizing antibodies that prevent reinfection with the #coronavirus remained unchanged 6 to 12 months later, while related but less important antibodies slowly disappeared.

Memory B cells continued to evolve & antibodies could neutralize an even **broader group of variants**.

A year after infection, neutralizing activity in people NOT vaccinated was lower against all #coronavirus variants, with the greatest loss against the South African variant. #CovidVaccines significantly boosted antibody levels & ramped up neutralizing ability by about 50-fold.💉

#COVIDIOT Rand Paul, an embarrassment to the medical community, stupidly claimed that he wouldn’t get a #CovidVaccine because he’d been infected and was immune.

But new #coronavirus variants can sidestep the body’s immune defenses, similar to influenza.🦠

Together, the studies show that (no surprise) the #CovidVaccines work and provide long-lasting immunity.

And, in those who were naturally infected, vaccines may provide very long-lasting (even lifetime!) immunity, even to emerging new #coronavirus variants.

So #GetVaccinated!💉

https://twitter.com/drdenagrayson/status/1397891392698003461

Apologies -- it's Dr. @SCOTTeHENSLEY who should be cited in this thread on the #CovidVaccines.

https://twitter.com/DrDenaGrayson/status/1397894354224701444?s=20