In the meantime, the vaccinations are moving forward. More and more have received their first spades – and are happy. But beware! Corona is by no means a thing of the past. Those who have been vaccinated for the first time can still be infected. Because: The first syringe hardly offers any protection. That is the result of a British study at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
For the study, the blood of 250 test subjects who had already received the first or second vaccination from Pfizer / Biontech was analyzed. The researchers wanted to find out how the antibodies in the blood would react to the various coronaviruses. In the experimental set-up, the blood together with the viruses were applied to culture plates. After four days, the samples were examined and it was recorded how many coronaviruses were still on the plates. In plain language: How well the antibodies had worked.
Antibodies had no chance against corona variants
In fact, serious differences were found. While the original corona virus hardly stood a chance, it looked very different with the variants. It was practically impossible for the antibodies of the first vaccinated to do anything against the variants from India and South Africa. The antibodies were only received against the variant from England, albeit very heavily.
The situation was different, however, for people who had a second vaccination. Their antibodies were also able to prevail against the variants. “Although a single dose could still offer significantly more protection than no vaccination, people who have been vaccinated once are probably less protected against these Sars-CoV-2 variants,” is the conclusion of the study, as the “Tages-Anzeiger” writes.
The investigation shows: The first spade is not enough. Full protection is only achieved with the second syringe. Not for everyone, however. Especially not for the elderly. Despite vaccinations, outbreaks occurred in old people’s homes, as a further study from Berlin has shown. With the result: the vaccination does not work as well for old people as it does for younger people. The immune system is less responsive to the vaccine.
The vaccination does not work for everyone
But not only the elderly cannot build up effective immune protection despite a full corona vaccination. Further studies show that corona vaccinations work less well in people whose immune system is slowed down by drugs, as the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) in Germany last announced.
It affects people who have had an organ transplant or, in some cases, cancer patients. “Depending on the extent of the immunosuppression and the drugs used, the immune response is significantly worse or even fails despite a full vaccination,” said Stiko chairman Thomas Mertens in an interview with the Funke media group.
Further studies are still being carried out. According to the Stiko boss, the main question is when these people should be vaccinated again. In any case, the risk of infection in their environment should be reduced as much as possible through vaccinations. “This is called the cocoon strategy,” said Mertens. (jmh)