Immunity is the body’s defense mechanism against any pathogen, and can be classified as innate immunity and adaptive immunity which involves specific response to any infection and involvement of cellular response and the antibody response. Innate immune response is produced immediately; while cellular & antibody response starts after a week of the start of the infection. Cellular response is mediated through T-cells and the antibody response is mediated through the B-cells¹.

Recent studies by Turner et al showed that people who suffered from COVID-19 infection had memory plasma cells that produce antibodies. These cells provide long-term antibody production that offers stable protection at a level of 10–20% of that during the acute phase. Also studies by Wang et al. on the antibody responses at between six months and a year in SARS-CoV-2 patients; made it evident that the generation of immunological memory occurs, and this could boost or enhance the immunity further by vaccinating them after a year ⁴.

Scientists from Rockefeller University in the US investigated and examined the antibodies obtained from COVID patients’ blood sample. The 63 people in the study, had COVID-19 in the spring of last year and their follow ups revealed that the antibodies produced by the immune systems memory B cells had an enhanced capacity to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19, hinting that these people were developing an enhanced and improved and long-lasting defense against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Also, further studies of these antibodies, suggested that these antibodies were increased among 26 people in the group who received at least one dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. The study also intimated that planned and timely boosters with the current vaccines may impart additional protection in people who have never had the disease ⁵.

WHO disclosed that as on March 2021 more than 116 million cases of COVID-19 infection were reported. WHO further disclosed that a recent study in Israel involving 596,618 people vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer Biontech vaccine between 20 December and 1st of February prevented 94% of symptomatic COVID-19 cases, 87% of hospitalizations and reduced 92% of severe disease in the people vaccinated. Preliminary clinical study results from Scotland, showed that four weeks after the administration of first doses of the Pfizer BioNTech and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines the hospitalization risk due to COVID-19 reduced by 85% and 94%, respectively ¹. Hence, evidence is quickly emerging to establish that vaccines might enhance and boost body’s immunity against COVID-19.

References:

1. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/risk-comms-updates/update52_vaccines.pdf?sfvrsn=b11be994_4
2. Jennifer M. Dan, J. M., Yu Kato, Kathryn M. Hastie, Esther Dawen Yu , Caterina E. Falit, Alba Grifoni ,Sydney I. Ramirez, Sonya Haupt , April Frazier , Catherine Nakao , Vamseedhar Rayaprolu ,Stephen A. Rawlings , Bjoern Peters, Florian Krammer, Viviana Simon , Erica Ollmann Saphire ,Davey M. Smith , Daniela Weiskopf , Alessandro Sette, Shane Crotty. Immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 assessed for up to 8 months after infection. Science.,2021, 371
3. https://immunizebc.ca/how-do-vaccines-work
4. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01557-z
5. https://www.indiatoday.in/coronavirus-outbreak/vaccine-updates/story/vaccines-boost-natural-immunity-covid-1809500-2021-06-01