Study: COVID-19 mRNA vaccines provide long-lasting protection

• A new study revealed that the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna provide long-lasting protection from the disease.
• The study found that the body’s so-called training grounds for immune cells remained active 15 weeks after the first dose of vaccine.
• This indicated “a persistent, protective immune response.”

The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have been shown to generate a “persistent” immune response that provided long-lasting protection, according to a new study.

Senior author Ali Ellebedy, an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis, explained that the study focused on germinal centers, which are the body’s so-called “boot camps for immune cells.”

The study found continuous activity in these germinal centers 15 weeks after the first dose of vaccine.

Ellebedy explained, “Germinal centers are the key to a persistent, protective immune response. Germinal centers are where our immune memories are formed. And the longer we have a germinal center, the stronger and more durable our immunity will be because there’s a fierce selection process happening there, and only the best immune cells survive.”

“We found that germinal centers were still going strong 15 weeks after the vaccine’s first dose. We’re still monitoring the germinal centers, and they’re not declining; in some people, they’re still ongoing,” he continued. “This is truly remarkable.”

There have been debates as to how long the vaccines provide protection and whether booster shots will be needed, particularly during the spread of more contagious variants.

The vaccines have so far provided adequate protection against the new variants. Still, experts raised concerns about possible new variants that could be more resistant to the current vaccines.

There is still more information needed, however, to determine whether booster shots will be required to receive more protection against the virus.

The study was published on Monday in the journal Nature.

Source: The Hill