There’s a great deal of uncertainty in the public mind concerning COVID immunity. And the three month factor that’s emerged in several reports lately. However, it’s becoming clearer we are going to need booster shots. Just like that other common coronavirus, influenza, that we have learned to live and cope with. We share two opinions on the topic here.
The Current State of Science by Bruce Y. Lee (John Hopkins)
Bruce Lee is a writer, journalist and senior contributor for Forbes. He is also Associate Professor of International Health, and Director of Operations Research at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His base is at the International Vaccine Access Center, where he develops mathematical models for decision makers in public health.
Bruce Lee lives in a world of absolutes, attempting to predict the uncertain. He delved into a recent CDC statement to the effect we may retain immunity for three months after a natural infection. However, it seems the best we may expect is a pause, from worrying about being re-infected for three months.
COVID Immunity And The Three Month Factor According to NIH
The U.S. National Institutes of Health is a global leader in medical research. Its approach is more positive, when it says 95% of infections leave ‘durable memories’ of the virus up to eight months. And it hopes people receiving SARS-CoV-2 vaccines will develop similar lasting immune memories.
The NIH bases these two statements on recent research funded by NIAID and National Cancer Institute (see AAAS link below). However, the science is still new. As Bruce Lee comments wryly, it’s been only about six or seven missed haircuts since this completely new virus emerged.
And therefore COVID immunity and the three month factor (or is eight) is about a temporary respite. And it may or may not work for us if we drop our guard and start taking chances. So it’s business as usual really, until something more definite crops up.
Related
Important Things to Know About the Vaccines
What If We Stopped Vaccinating the People?
Preview Image: Immune Memory Relationships
