I Am Done (not) With Coronamonomania, Part 7

If anyone tries to tell you that CV-19 vaccination is better protection against infection than the immune response from a prior infection, that person is simply nuts.  Here is yet another study finding that a prior infection, even from as long ago as three years,  produces a far better response to even the most recent extremely mutated CV-19 strain than does vaccination.  In general, antibody responses from a prior infection declined substantially, but T cell responses remained fairly high level.   (Medrxiv Paper)

And this study similarly tracked immune responses among vaccinated persons in regard to potential breakthrough infections.  It also found that those with prior infection as well as vaccination had substantial protection against subsequent infection, but those with no prior infection did not.  (Medrxiv Paper)

I have written and spoken extensively about how viruses have resevoirs and hiding places that we don’t understand, which is one reason why all the spread suppression attempts are not just futile but plain stupid–talking to you here little Timmy Walz.  And right on time comes a new piece of research showing that almost all wildlife carry CV-19.  I am sure Fat Timmy can find a way to mandate that they all wear masks, don’t go out and graze or hunt, avoid their family members and sit in a basement and do nothing.  (JAMA Article)

Researchers are still unraveling why CV-19 causes so many harms to the human body.  This study finds that CV-19 spike protein binds to fibrin creating blood clots leading to strokes and other thrombic damage.  The fibrin also collects in the brain, leading to inflammatory damage which may be responsible for some of the cognitive damage after CV-19 infections.  Treating patients with anti-fibrin antibodies may help reduce the damage.  (Nature Study)

Coronaviruses have a wide family of sub-strains, several of which are causes of normal colds.  So most people have been exposed and have some level of immune response to one or more coronaviruses.  Did those pre-existing immune responses have any impact on attempted CV-19 infection.  This research, consistent with prior studies, finds some limited protection against infection, but no significant effect on symptoms if you are infected.  The study was done among households and studied risk of secondary infection when one member of the household was already infected.  (Medrxiv Study)

On the other hand it also appears that prior infections with seasonal coronaviruses may be linked to a mal-adapted response to CV-19, called immune imprinting, which actually hinders development a more specific response to CV-19 and may be the cause of some more serious infections.  (Medrxiv Paper)

As is true with many respiratory viruses, CV-19 appears to be spread most widely by a few individuals.  The study examined whether these “superspreaders” exist because they have more contacts, or because they have higher viral loads.  According to the research, most of the variation in a person causing secondary infections, i.e., transmitting the virus to others, is due to number of contacts as opposed to viral load.  (Medrxiv Study)