4 ms·

> the amount of antibodies returns to the level it was after the third vaccine, not more. It’s nice, but it’s not what we expect from a booster So basically it

by ummonk 5y ago

> the amount of antibodies returns to the level it was after the third vaccine, not more. It’s nice, but it’s not what we expect from a booster So basically it doesn’t confer any long term benefits - the only value from it would be if you want to keep your circulating antibodies high by perpetually boosting on a regular interval.

mandmandam 5y ago
> perpetually boosting on a regular interval. ... Which is expressly advised against by the EMA, as linked in the article.
- nojokes 5y ago
  No, they advise against doing it too often i.e. doing 4th shot shortly after 3rd. That's all.
kashunstva 5y ago
It remains to be seen over the long-run whether antibody levels correlate inversely with either risk of: a) _any_ Covid infection or b) _severe_ Covid infection. Antibody levels are often cited as prediction surrogates early on because they are easy to measure. Occurrence or recurrence of infection, irrespective of antibody levels, of course, takes time. Also remaining to be seen is the role of T-cell mediated immunity in reducing the severity of Covid infection. If that role is significant, then declining antibody levels may be less worrisome than people believe currently.
- nradov 5y ago
  We already know that T-cell immunity has a major role in reducing the severity of COVID-19. There is no real question about that. Antibody levels are transient and comparatively less important. https://youtu.be/GklHGYY8vN8 https://youtu.be/GklHGYY8vN8
h2hq 5y ago
Antibodies are not long term, ever. They always degrade in the blood system. ...but that's also not the only type of immune response that a vaccine generates. Vaccines cause the creation of b-cells, which retain the memory of this virus antigen and will re-create antibodies if the virus infects the host. b-cell immunity is persistent - for years, and probably decades. But because it is very hard to measure (it resides in your bone marrow), it is therefor not often reported on. Having said that, it is hard to imagine that a 4th booster significantly increases the number of anti-covid b-cells - let alone ones that can impart immunity against the newer variants.

by ummonk 5y ago

mandmandam 5y ago

> perpetually boosting on a regular interval. ... Which is expressly advised against by the EMA, as linked in the article.

nojokes 5y ago
No, they advise against doing it too often i.e. doing 4th shot shortly after 3rd. That's all.

kashunstva 5y ago

It remains to be seen over the long-run whether antibody levels correlate inversely with either risk of: a) _any_ Covid infection or b) _severe_ Covid infection. Antibody levels are often cited as prediction surrogates early on because they are easy to measure. Occurrence or recurrence of infection, irrespective of antibody levels, of course, takes time. Also remaining to be seen is the role of T-cell mediated immunity in reducing the severity of Covid infection. If that role is significant, then declining antibody levels may be less worrisome than people believe currently.

nradov 5y ago
We already know that T-cell immunity has a major role in reducing the severity of COVID-19. There is no real question about that. Antibody levels are transient and comparatively less important. https://youtu.be/GklHGYY8vN8 https://youtu.be/GklHGYY8vN8

h2hq 5y ago

Antibodies are not long term, ever. They always degrade in the blood system. ...but that's also not the only type of immune response that a vaccine generates. Vaccines cause the creation of b-cells, which retain the memory of this virus antigen and will re-create antibodies if the virus infects the host. b-cell immunity is persistent - for years, and probably decades. But because it is very hard to measure (it resides in your bone marrow), it is therefor not often reported on. Having said that, it is hard to imagine that a 4th booster significantly increases the number of anti-covid b-cells - let alone ones that can impart immunity against the newer variants.