The early immune response in a person who has been vaccinated for COVID-19 can predict the level of protection they will have to the virus over time, according to analysis from Australian mathematicians, clinicians, and scientists, and published the journal Nature Medicine. The researchers from the University of New South Wales s Kirby Institute, the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, and the University of Sydney have identified an immune correlate of vaccine protection. This has the potential to dramatically cut development times for new vaccines, by measuring neutralising antibody levels as a proxy for immune protection from COVID-19. Neutralising antibodies are tiny Y-shaped proteins produced by our body in response to infection or vaccination. They bind to the virus, reducing its ability to infect, says Dr Deborah Cromer from the Kirby Institute.
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Positive signs of immunity after COVID-19 infection
Australian scientists have described the evolution of immunity levels up to four months following COVID-19 infection, finding that while antibody levels drop dramatically in the first one to two months, the decrease then slows down substantially.
The findings suggest that protective COVID-19 vaccines should ideally generate stronger antibody responses than natural infection.
The research, led by Professor Stephen Kent from the Doherty Institute in collaboration with the University of New South Wales Kirby Institute and Flinders University, has been published in high ranking journal Nature Communications,
The team, including University of Melbourne Dr Jennifer Juno, a Senior Research Fellow at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), have been investigating how the immune system, particularly B and T cells, responds to the COVID-19 spike protein.
Key Takeaways From Dec. 10, 2020
An FDA advisory panel voted to recommend the Pfizer vaccine for emergency-use authorization in the U.S.
Pfizer s head of vaccine R&D said a vaccine is urgent as the pandemic is essentially out of control.
The U.S. will closely monitor the safety and effectiveness of any authorized vaccine, health officials said.
The daily U.S. death toll was more than 3,000 for the first time, while new reported cases rose above 220,000.
Pennsylvania and Virginia added new restrictions, and Ohio extended its curfew.
A House panel accused the Trump administration of concealing evidence in a CDC coronavirus probe.