Oregon: A new laboratory study from Oregon Health and Science University This suggests that older people have fewer antibodies to the novel coronavirus.
The study was published in Journal of the American Medical Association. Antibodies are blood proteins that are made by the immune system to protect against infection. They are touted as a key player in protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
“Our older population is potentially susceptible to the variants, even if they have been vaccinated,” said senior author Fikadu Tafese, PhD, assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the OHSU School of Medicine.
Tafesse and his colleagues emphasize that even though they measured a lower antibody response in older people, the vaccine appears to be effective enough to prevent infection and severe disease in most people of all ages.
“The good news is that our vaccines are really strong,” Tafesse said.
However, with vaccine progress slowing in Oregon and across the United States, the researchers say their findings underscore the importance of promoting vaccination in local communities.
Vaccination reduces the spread of the virus and reduces newer and potentially more communicable forms, especially for older people who appear to be more vulnerable to breakthrough infection.
“The more people who are vaccinated, the less the virus spreads,” Tafesse said. “Older people aren’t completely safe because they are vaccinated; the people around them really need to be vaccinated too. At the end of the day, what this study really means is how to protect the community. Everyone needs vaccination.”
Researchers measured immune responses in the blood of 50 people two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine COVID-19. They divided the participants into age groups and then collected their blood serum in test tubes for the original “wild-type” SARS-CoV-2 virus and P.1 Variant (also known as Gamma) which originated in Brazil.
The youngest group — all in their 20s — had a nearly sevenfold increase in antibody response compared to the oldest group of people aged 70 to 82. In fact, the laboratory results showed a clear linear progression from youngest to oldest: the younger a participant, the stronger the antibody response.
“Older people may be more susceptible to the variants than younger individuals,” Tafes said.
Co-author Marcel Curlin, associate professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at the OHSU School of Medicine, said the findings highlight the importance of vaccinating older people, as well as others, who may be more vulnerable to COVID-19. Huh.
“The vaccine still produces a stronger immune response than natural infection in most older individuals, even if they are younger than their younger counterparts,” Curlin said. “Vaccination could differentiate between severe and mild disease in this group, and possibly reduce the chance of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to another person.”
The study was published in Journal of the American Medical Association. Antibodies are blood proteins that are made by the immune system to protect against infection. They are touted as a key player in protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
“Our older population is potentially susceptible to the variants, even if they have been vaccinated,” said senior author Fikadu Tafese, PhD, assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the OHSU School of Medicine.
Tafesse and his colleagues emphasize that even though they measured a lower antibody response in older people, the vaccine appears to be effective enough to prevent infection and severe disease in most people of all ages.
“The good news is that our vaccines are really strong,” Tafesse said.
However, with vaccine progress slowing in Oregon and across the United States, the researchers say their findings underscore the importance of promoting vaccination in local communities.
Vaccination reduces the spread of the virus and reduces newer and potentially more communicable forms, especially for older people who appear to be more vulnerable to breakthrough infection.
“The more people who are vaccinated, the less the virus spreads,” Tafesse said. “Older people aren’t completely safe because they are vaccinated; the people around them really need to be vaccinated too. At the end of the day, what this study really means is how to protect the community. Everyone needs vaccination.”
Researchers measured immune responses in the blood of 50 people two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine COVID-19. They divided the participants into age groups and then collected their blood serum in test tubes for the original “wild-type” SARS-CoV-2 virus and P.1 Variant (also known as Gamma) which originated in Brazil.
The youngest group — all in their 20s — had a nearly sevenfold increase in antibody response compared to the oldest group of people aged 70 to 82. In fact, the laboratory results showed a clear linear progression from youngest to oldest: the younger a participant, the stronger the antibody response.
“Older people may be more susceptible to the variants than younger individuals,” Tafes said.
Co-author Marcel Curlin, associate professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at the OHSU School of Medicine, said the findings highlight the importance of vaccinating older people, as well as others, who may be more vulnerable to COVID-19. Huh.
“The vaccine still produces a stronger immune response than natural infection in most older individuals, even if they are younger than their younger counterparts,” Curlin said. “Vaccination could differentiate between severe and mild disease in this group, and possibly reduce the chance of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to another person.”
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