COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections Result In Super Immunity: Study
PORTLAND, OR — No one wants a breakthrough case of COVID-19. But if it happens, there appears to be at least one silver lining: a form of super immunity.
A study conducted by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University and published online ahead of print in the Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, found that the body's immune system response to a breakthrough case is much stronger against delta cases than in cases for people who are not vaccinated.
Researchers believe that this super immunity will aid in the fight against delta, omicron and other variants.
"Our study suggests that individuals who are vaccinated and then exposed to a breakthrough infection have super immunity," said Dr. Fikadu Tafesse, the study's senior author and assistant professor of molecular biology and immunology at the university's School of Medicine.
The study found antibody levels in blood samples, taken from people who had come down with a breakthrough cases, were far higher and up to 1,000 percent more effective than those in someone two weeks after getting their second shot.
"You can’t get a better immune response than this," Tafesse said.
The study collected blood samples from 52 people, all university employees who had received the Pfizer vaccine. Of those, 26 people had breakthrough cases.
Tafesse stressed that while they have not yet studied people who the omicron variant, they believe that the super immunity response would be similar.
One of Tafesse's colleagues, Dr. Marcel Curlin, who specializes in infectious diseases and is the medical director of the university's occupational health center, said that while the news points to "an eventual end game," it doesn't mean that the pandemic is over.
The study does suggest a path that could lead to an end.
"Once you're vaccinated and then exposed to the virus, you're probably going to be reasonably well protected from future variants," Curlin said.
"Our study implies that the long-term outcome is going to be a tapering-off of the severity of the worldwide epidemic."
Researchers said that one key finding is that people need to get vaccinated.
"You've got to have a foundation of protection."
This article originally appeared on the Portland Patch
