Can Your Immune System Protect You From Coronavirus Strains?
The coronavirus is evolving. And so are your antibodies. But can your immune system ward off the complexities of the coronavirus strains? As new variants of COVID-19 are spreading rapidly across the world, scientists have explained how the body's immune system reacts to the coronavirus variants. According to the study, the body's natural immune response following COVID-19 infection is sustained for up to seven months, but these antibodies are not sufficient against contemporary variants of the virus.
Covid-19 Variants Can Hack Your Immunity
To combat the consequences of coronavirus mutations which have led to the formation of various COVID-19 variants, the experts have stressed producing new vaccine designs to keep pace with the emerging Covid strains from evading the body's immunity. In the recent study, the researchers analysed the serum of 233 individuals diagnosed with Covid-19 over seven months and found that the level of immunity over time is dependent on disease severity and the viral variant.
Further, the antibodies developed during the first wave also had reduced effectiveness against six variants, ranging from those observed in the second wave in Australia through to three variants of concern that have driven the global pandemic in the UK, Brazil, and South Africa.
"We can learn a great deal from these people who were infected in the first wave in Australia as they were infected with the same variant that our current vaccines are based on," said Fabienne Brilot, Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. "While the approved vaccines are showing good responses, our study highlights the importance of continued vaccine development, especially taking into account the differences in variants," Brilot added.
COVID-19 Variants That Are Present Right Now
The study was conducted to investigate the level, breadth, and longevity of the immunity generated from Covid-19 infection and whether mutation of the virus compromises immunity. The team examined the effect of 10 COVID-19 strains and variants of concern/ interest including the first known classified SARS-CoV-2 strain (D614), Alpha (B117), Beta (B1351), Gamma (P1), and Zeta (P2).
How dangerous are the new variants? In the latest report, the World Health Organisation announced that the Delta variants are a cause of concern. The experts stressed that all the coronavirus mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus the spike protein that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a "receptor binding domain", meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells.