Much has been said about what is the best way to immunize against the coronavirus, some defend that it is through the vaccine and others have contracted the disease, however, a study published in the journal BMC Medicine supports those who maintain that the greatest protection is the union of both, that is, getting vaccinated and having passed COVID-19, which is known as hybrid immunity.
The researchers who have reached this conclusion, belonging to the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute (IGTP), wanted to know what the population’s immunity against SARS-CoV-2 was. To do this, they analyzed 1,076 people between the ages of 43 and 72, including unvaccinated and vaccinated people who had passed COVID-19.
They were also monitored for the level and type of antibodies to five viral antigens: the entire Spike (S) protein, the RBD receptor-binding domain, the S2 fragment, the entire Nucleocapsid (N) protein, or the terminal fragment of N. With these data, immunity could be evaluated, in order to decide when and to whom booster vaccinations should be administered.
People over 60 years of age and smokers lose antibodies earlier
The results showed that 35.8% of people who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and were not vaccinated no longer had detectable antibodies one year after diagnosis, especially in those over 60 years of age and in smokers. Participants who had been vaccinated with a previous coronavirus infection had much higher antibody levels than those who had not had COVID-19 before the doses.
“Our data underscores the importance of vaccinating people, even if they have been previously infected, and confirms that hybrid immunity is superior and longer lasting”
On the other hand, they observed that the type of vaccine was the greatest factor on which the antibody levels depended, it was the mRNA vaccines and, in particular, Spikevax (Moderna), which induced the highest antibodies after the first and second dose. , compared to Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) or Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines.
In addition, other factors, such as age or mental health problems, also affected. Thus, people over 60 years of age or with mental illness had lower levels of antibodies after vaccination. “The association between mental health and antibody response requires further investigation, but it is known that people with disorders such as depression, chronic stress or schizophrenia have a lower response to vaccination in general,” explains Carlota Dobaño, one of the study’s researchers.
For her part, Marianna Karachaliou, lead author of the research, stated that “our data underscore the importance of vaccinating people, even if they have been previously infected, and confirm that hybrid immunity is superior and longer lasting. This means that people who have been vaccinated but have not passed the infection would need a booster sooner than those who have,”.
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