It seems like the pandemic is about to end. With the vaccination going on, most people have immunity against the Covid.
What is immunity?
Immunity is the body’s ability to defend itself against diseases. There are two types of immunity in humans,
- Active immunity
- Passive immunity
Active immunity
A person gains natural immunity through falling sick. Bacteria’s and viruses enter our bodies, and our WBCs make antibodies against them. This type of immunity is natural.
The vaccine can induce active immunity by injecting a weakened or killed pathogen into our bodies. However, this method is an artificial way of inducing active immunity.
Passive immunity
Any immunity besides natural immunity is the acquired one. You can attain immunity from your mother or through vaccination.
Once you have the immunity, it can last a lifetime or less. It depends on the type of antigens. For example, you need a tetanus booster every five years.
Antibodies
Antibodies play a significant role in our immunity. These proteins fight against the antigens and protect our bodies.
Three main types of white blood cells have a significant role in antibodies production,
- Macrophages
- B lymphocytes
- T lymphocytes
Covid-19 immunity
Regarding Covid-19, there are two types of immunity—one where people get it after getting sick and another one through vaccination.
Covid-19 was a new virus, and alot of it was unknown to the researchers. So we studied it throughout the pandemic and its effects on humans.
At first, we all assumed that you could only get covid once. However, it was proven wrong when people came with covid for the second time.
The data suggested that the immunity can last for three months only. After that, a covid antibody test can detect your residual levels of antibodies.
Later, the scientists found out that the immunity can last for up to a year. It is why you need a booster after a year of vaccination.
Vaccine-induced Covid Immunity
There are plenty of Covid-19 vaccines. The immunity would depend on the type of vaccine. However, the researchers suggest getting a booster dose after the covid vaccine. Another school of thought is that two or three booster shots can provide better protection against the covid.
Covid-19 and its Variants
Unfortunately, Covid-19 has evolved side by side with us researching it. Therefore, even the slightest change of DNA could give rise to a new species of covid. Hence, we have alpha, delta, Mu, kappa, omicron, etc.
Omicron Variant
Everything was under control until the omicron variant arrived. This variant is quite different from the original covid-19 strain. This difference indicates that the virus is going through quick mutations to adapt.
The omicron virus can cause severe covid-19 symptoms. Even more problematic is its inability to present to our immune systems. It means that you will have covid, but your body won’t notice it, and it won’t produce antibodies. So the covid antibody test would be negative.
In my opinion, vaccines can protect against covid. But, covid is evolving at an alarming rate. This evolution may lead us to another pandemic. So we should prepare ourselves for it.