Antibodies generated in the body in response to corona virus mRNA vaccines (such as the Pfizer and Modernena vaccines, for example) appear to be more effective in neutralizing the virus and its various variants than antibodies naturally formed in the body as a result of virus exposure and Covid-19 infection. This emerges from the results of a new comparative study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports. The study concluded that even for those who have fallen ill and recovered from corona, the best way to protect against re-infection – especially in newer and more contagious variants, is to get vaccinated.
The discussion of the benefits of natural immunity versus immunization is one of the hottest and most tumultuous that continues to exist around the world even two and a half years into the corona plague. Opponents of vaccines argue, among other things, that like other infectious diseases, the human immune system can produce viable antibodies that will provide lasting protection after first exposure and infection with the virus, and help the body easily overcome future infections. However, scientists have questioned the ability of antibodies generated from natural immunity to survive over time, and reality has taught that attempts to take a mitigating approach and achieve public “herd immunity” in some countries have failed.
Meanwhile, to date, limited data have accumulated regarding the efficacy of antibodies generated in response to a vaccine compared to those generated in natural immunity. This is where the new study, conducted at the National Institute of Cancer in Bethesda, comes into play. In the study, the researchers examined (under laboratory conditions) how many antibodies are produced in the body in response to the vaccine compared to how many are produced following exposure to the virus, and whether the number of antibodies has an effect on the amount of virus they are able to neutralize.
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The researchers took 41 bleeding serum samples from 33 volunteers, all of whom had previously been infected with corona. They compared these samples to samples taken from 28 volunteers vaccinated with two doses of mRNA vaccine against corona (Pfizer or Moderna). They found that the vaccinated had a 16.8-fold greater amount of neutralizing antibodies compared to the amount of those antibodies in the recovering specimens, and 30.1-fold more neutralizing antibodies compared to the group of people who had recently been infected with corona (fresh infection).
High neutralization ability against infectious variants
In a follow-up experiment, the researchers found that the difference in the number of antibodies in favor of the vaccinated also translated into a similar rate of improvement in the ability to neutralize the virus. The researchers concluded that the vaccinated have more antibodies and their immune system is more effective at neutralizing the corona virus. When the researchers introduced a new variant of Corona into the samples, they saw that the antibodies of the vaccinated were much more effective in neutralizing them, compared to the antibodies of the recovering ones.
The researchers concluded that antibodies generated in response to mRNA vaccines are likely to be more effective against new coronavirus-infected variants than natural immunity.
Although the experiment was performed to scientific and accurate standards, it should be remembered that antibody efficacy was actually tested only under laboratory conditions and in vitro. Therefore, it can not determine with certainty that even in antibody surface conditions of stronger vaccines than those of recovering ones, nor did it include some factors that could not be represented in the experimental conditions – such as certain three-dimensional structures of the spike protein and its receptors in cells. The researchers further noted that there was a difference in the median age of the participants in the natural immunity group compared to the participants in the vaccinated group, but added that this age difference should not affect the extreme difference between the antibody levels of each group.