'Covid vaccines work better in recovered individuals'

New Delhi: A US study conducted after vaccination of healthcare workers has revealed that Covid-19 vaccines are more effective on individuals who have been previously infected by the virus. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed and was pre-printed by medRxiv on February 1, reveals that the antibody response generated by the vaccine was better in those who had recovered from Covid-19 than those who had not been infected. The authors studied antibody responses to a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines in healthcare workers (HCW) with laboratory confirmed Covid-19 infection and compared them to antibody responses of HCW who had not been infected.80676330The study found that HCW with prior Covid-19 infection showed clear secondary antibody responses to vaccination with IgG spike binding titers rapidly increasing by seven days and peaking by days 10 and 14 post-vaccination. The study found that “at all time points tested, HCW with prior Covod-19 infection showed statistically significant higher antibody titers of binding and functional antibody compared to HCW without prior Covid-19 infection.” A titer is a laboratory test that measures the presence and amount of antibodies in blood.The preliminary findings of the study suggest that at a time when limited doses of vaccines are available, a single dose suffices for patients who have had laboratory confirmed Covid-19 (symptomatic or asymptomatic) infection and these patients can be placed lower on the vaccination priority list.The authors — Saman Saadat, Zahra Rikhtegaran-Tehrani, James Logue, Michelle Newman, Matthew B Frieman, Anthony D Harris and Mohammad M Sajadi — conducted the study as the countries have been considering untested vaccine regimen due to vaccine shortage.The study found that “Although vaccination is a safe and effective method of prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), current shortages in vaccine production and distribution have led some experts and countries to consider untested regimens (one or half dose of a vaccine).”

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/3areYcE