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There are many questions remaining about COVID-19 vaccines, akin to how lengthy safety will final and whether or not vaccinated folks can unfold the virus. Immunologists are working arduous to get the solutions.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, three massive questions stay. First, can somebody who has been vaccinated nonetheless unfold the illness? Second, will the vaccine stay efficient because the virus itself evolves? And third, how lengthy will the vaccine final? NPR’s Richard Harris says immunologists are arduous at work getting the solutions.
RICHARD HARRIS, BYLINE: Let’s begin with the primary query about whether or not people who find themselves vaccinated can nonetheless unfold the illness. Marion Pepper, an immunologist on the University of Washington, says that is not simply an open query for this vaccine, however for vaccines usually.
MARION PEPPER: It’s arduous to say as a result of we’re always being bombarded by completely different pathogens, and we do not know when our immune system is responding.
HARRIS: We might have infections that do not make us sick, so we by no means learn about them, however we could possibly be spreading illness. Michel Nussenzwei, a Howard Hughes investigator on the Rockefeller University, says it is doable that your immune system will not fully forestall the virus from beginning to multiply inside you after an an infection.
MICHEL NUSSENZWEI: Spreading it’s actually a perform of how a lot virus you are producing.
HARRIS: If your immune system ramps up shortly sufficient, that might forestall a virus from beginning to multiply.
NUSSENZWEI: It’s a little bit of a race between the immune system and the virus.
HARRIS: It appears probably the vaccine will forestall you from spreading important quantities of virus, however scientists are nonetheless making an attempt to nail that down. The second query about whether or not the vaccine will stay efficient even because the virus evolves is tougher to reply. Scientists aren’t involved in regards to the present mutations. And long term, Pepper says your immune system does have methods to adapt.
PEPPER: Even although everybody is clearly involved a few virus evolving, your reminiscence B cell responsiveness additionally evolves over time.
HARRIS: Memory B cells bear in mind an an infection and assist your immune system produce antibodies. And they do not simply bear in mind viruses they’ve encountered. Remarkably, they will generate antibodies which have random modifications in them, and people will help defend towards a brand new pressure of virus.
PEPPER: It’s just about the one time within the physique the place a mature cell introduces mutations deliberately into the DNA.
HARRIS: Clearly, there are viruses that may evade this intelligent system, which is why you want a brand new flu shot yearly. For COVID, we’ll have to attend and see. Finally is the query of how lengthy a vaccine will final. Stephen Jameson on the University of Minnesota Medical School says, in some cases, your immune system can have a really lengthy reminiscence.
STEPHEN JAMESON: Some form of pure infections, it may give you lifelong immunity. You solely get it as soon as. You’re protected for the remainder of your life.
HARRIS: Vaccines mimic a pure an infection to set off an immune response, however they might require a lift to maintain that immunity sturdy. That depends upon the character of the an infection. In the case of individuals with COVID-19, there’s already proof that immunity will final for a lot of months, however past that’s an open query.
JAMESON: The good factor is that there can be the chance that if turned on the market was some waning of immune response, then like many different vaccines, perhaps there must be one other booster. Maybe you get one other booster after a yr or one thing.
HARRIS: These questions replicate how a lot scientists have come to know about our immune system in recent times. Marion Pepper says COVID can also be illuminating what we nonetheless do not learn about how the immune system defends us from viruses.
PEPPER: It’s been actually attention-grabbing to observe this unfold in actual time ‘trigger we’re studying a lot about this virus and the immune response to it in a approach that we have by no means performed beforehand.
HARRIS: I requested Michel Nussenzwei one other big-picture query.
Are we going to be saved by our immune system?
NUSSENZWEI: Yes, we’re for certain.
HARRIS: Richard Harris, NPR News.
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