Vaccine immune response linked to age, underscoring importance of mass vaccinations
The vaccine still appears to be effective enough to prevent infection and severe illness in most people of all ages.
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Older people appear to have fewer antibodies against the novel coronavirus, a new laboratory study from Oregon Health & Science University suggests.
Antibodies are blood proteins that are made by the immune system to protect against infection. They're known to be key players in protection against COVID-19 infection, and since older individuals have fewer of them, they're potentially more susceptible to the virus variants even if they're vaccinated, findings showed.
Despite that, the research team emphasized that even though they measured diminished antibody response in older people, the vaccine still appeared to be effective enough to prevent infection and severe illness in most people of all ages. Luckily, the vaccines are strong.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT
With vaccine uptake slowing in Oregon and across the U.S., researchers say their findings underscore the importance of promoting vaccinations in local communities. Vaccinations reduce the spread of the virus and new and potentially more transmissible variants, especially for older people who appear to be more susceptible to breakthrough infections.
The team measured the immune response in the blood of 50 people two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19. They grouped participants into age groups and then exposed their blood serum in test tubes to the original "wild-type" SARS-CoV-2 virus and the P.1 variant (also known as gamma) that originated in Brazil.
The youngest group -- all in their 20s -- had a nearly seven-fold increase in antibody response compared with the oldest group of people between 70 and 82. In fact, the laboratory results reflected a clear linear progression from youngest to oldest: The younger a participant, the more robust the antibody response.
The findings highlight the importance of vaccinating older people as well as others who may be more vulnerable to COVID-19.
It also underscores the message from vaccine advocates that the more people get vaccinated, the less the virus circulates. Older people aren't safe simply because they're vaccinated; the people around them need to be vaccinated as well. Truly, everyone needs to be vaccinated to protect a given community -- a concept known as herd immunity, in which a critical mass of the population becomes inoculated, providing far fewer pathways for the virus to spread.
THE LARGER TREND
Some hospital and provider groups think vaccines should be required, at least for certain populations. For instance, the American Hospital Association supports mandatory vaccinations for hospital and health system employees, according to a policy statement adopted by the AHA Board of Trustees this week.
The statement supports hospitals and health systems that adopt mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies, with local factors and circumstances shaping whether and how these policies are implemented.
America's Essential Hospitals also said it is urging its member hospitals to require employee vaccinations.
Some hospitals do require employees to be vaccinated to protect against COVID-19. The mandate at Houston Methodist caused pushback in June from some nurses and other employees who walked off the job rather than submit to being vaccinated with what they deemed an experimental vaccine.
The three vaccines being used in the United States – Moderna, Pfizer and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine -- have received emergency use authorization, rather than full approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
