A Quebec study settles a scientific debate that is shaking the world of immunology. Do the antibodies produced by COVID-19 infection protect against the disease better than those produced by vaccination? The research findings run counter to accepted immune logic.
“Vaccination protects a little better than infection,” says Jean-François Masson, full professor in the chemistry department at the University of Montreal.
The findings contradict commonly accepted immune logic. For common colds or the flu, infection usually provides better protection than vaccination.
To reach these conclusions, the team followed 32 patients with COVID-19 but not hospitalized. The results of the study conducted with Joelle Pelletier, an expert in protein chemistry, were published Monday in Scientific Reports and Nature.
Old people better protected
After contracting a mild form of COVID-19, older people develop more antibodies, the study also concludes.
By analyzing the antibody level of these infected people, the researchers note that the older the patient is, the more resistance to the disease increases. “All infected people have developed antibodies, but the oldest have developed more than the youngest”, summarizes Jean-François Masson.
The antibodies produced by this infection to the original strain appear to be effective against the Delta variant, but “to a lesser extent, ie from 30 to 50%”. Here again, the young appear less protected by the infection.
This finding also contradicts the logic that young people develop more antibodies to diseases in general. The hypothesis that explains this may lie in the fact that the elderly “have been exposed to other coronaviruses in the past” and have developed other antibodies, extrapolates Mr. Masson. The study only looks at the presence of antibodies, while the human body has several other defense mechanisms against viruses.
The sample of 32 individuals involved in the research may seem small, but crossing the data with other studies confirms the conclusions, explains Jean-François Masson. “It is certain that the number is not very large, but it still covers an under-studied segment of the population, that is to say people infected but not hospitalized. “
This text is taken from our newsletter “The Coronavirus Mail” dated November 8, 2021. To subscribe, click here.