Study Finds Greater Antibody Response In Recovered COVID-19 Patients Than Vaccinated Ones – The Federalist

A new study has found that individuals that have previously contracted COVID-19 show a more potent antibody response than those who were solely vaccinated for the respiratory virus.

Conducted by a research team at Rockefeller University in New York, the analysis found that between a first (prime) and second (booster) shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, the memory B cells of infection-nave individuals produced antibodies that evolved increased neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2, but also that no additional increase in the potency or breadth of this activity was observed thereafter.

Meanwhile, researchers determined that not only do recovered COVID-19 patients possess neutralizing antibodies up to a year after infection, but that such infection simultaneously assists in offering protection against developing variants.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection produces B-cell responses that continue to evolve for at least one year, the study read. During that time, memory B cells express increasingly broad and potent antibodies that are resistant to mutations found in variants of concern.

The analysis later goes on to conclude, Memory antibodies selected over time by natural infection have greater potency and breadth than antibodies elicited by vaccination.

Moreover, the results suggest that boosting vaccinated individuals with currently available mRNA vaccines would produce a quantitative increase in plasma neutralizing activity but not the qualitative advantage against variants obtained by vaccinating convalescent individuals.

The studys findings add to further mounting evidence detailing the level of protection natural immunity offers previously infected COVID-19 patients. Last month, Emory University published an extensive investigation describing the efficiency of long-term immunity against the respiratory virus. Similar discoveries have also been identified in research released by the Cleveland Clinic and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, respectively.

Shawn Fleetwood is an intern at The Federalist and a student at the University of Mary Washington, where he plans to major in Political Science and minor in Journalism. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

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Study Finds Greater Antibody Response In Recovered COVID-19 Patients Than Vaccinated Ones - The Federalist