How many years can COVID-19 vaccine immunity last?

With the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, vaccinations are taking place around the world. However, it is not clear how long immunity to COVID-19 will last even if vaccinated. However, in a study conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, this time, the possibility that the immune response could last for several more years when administered with an mRNA vaccine was suggested.

An mRNA vaccine that acquires immunity to the virus by injecting some of the genetic information that is the basis for making the Corona 19 vaccine virus protein such as Moderna and Pfizer is being used to make antibodies to the protein. A study showed that the two vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, were effective even after six months had elapsed after the second dose.

Previous studies focused solely on antibodies indicated that immunity is likely to be short-lived, as antibodies are likely to be lost over a period of weeks to months. However, in May 2021, a research team from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) published a study focusing on memory B cells, immune cells involved in rapid antibody production. In this study, as a result of actually conducting a blood test on a person infected with COVID-19, it was found that the infected person retains immunity-related cells even after 8 months of infection with COVID-19. The results showed that it was possible.

According to the study, University of Washington professor Jackson Turner conducted the study on people who had been vaccinated against COVID-19, not people infected with the virus. Major immune cells in the lymph nodes of participants who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine were observed. As a result of lymph node biopsies 3, 4, 5, 7, and 15 weeks after the first vaccination, the active reaction that would lead to the production of lymph node memory B cells continued until 15 weeks and showed no signs of slowing. Turner said the immune response to vaccination is robust and durable, and that the response is likely to continue for years.

One expert said that this study is what kind of reaction is taking place in the lymph nodes. He said that it would raise new questions such as what the T cells, which give instructions to the B cells, do, but it is one of the positive studies on the continuation of the vaccine effect. Related information can be found here.