The vaccine works: Tenfold antibodies

The expert on the updated vaccine that increases antibodies tenfold  

 

Adam Lindh,  

 

Simon Karlsson 

 

Published 18.24  

 

The updated covid vaccine has been shown to produce good antibodies against mutations. 

  

At least the ones we've seen so far. 

 

- It is absolutely effective against all variants that have been discovered so far, says Niklas Arnberg, professor of virology at Umeå University.  

 

A new study published by the Karolinska Institute shows that the updated covid vaccine had a great effect. Researchers from both Karolinska Institutet and Danderyd Hospital have studied the effect of the new and updated covid-19 vaccine in an ongoing community study.  

 

The result, which will also be published in "The Lancet infectious Diseases", shows that the new vaccine, which only targets the omicron variant XBB, gives a tenfold increase in neutralizing antibodies against XBB in particular.  

 

But also against other and new variants such as BA.2.86.  

 

Very effective  

 

Niklas Arnberg, professor of virology at Umeå University, is also positive about the updated vaccine. 

 

- It is absolutely effective against all variants that have come up so far. But we have a slightly different and newer variant now called JN1 and there is a study that shows that the antibodies you get from the vaccine are possibly somewhat worse at protecting against it. But it's still good, he says. 

 
 

Charlotte Thålin. Photo: Ludvig Kostyal  

 

He believes that the new variant JN1 is somewhat more cunning in circumventing the body's immune system. But that the vaccine is still effective against the variant.  

 

At the same time that the variants are increasing and the infection is increasing, the vaccination rate is not as desired.  

 

- We are not quite as good as you would really like, it is probably the case that more people would need to get vaccinated. It's a little different in different age groups. I think that those who are in risk groups are probably relatively good at getting vaccinated actually.  

 

And it's not just the elderly who should get vaccinated. If you are young and have recently had covid, it may not be as important, but to counteract long-term covid there is good reason to do it, says Niklas Arnberg, who is also secretary general of the pandemic fund.  

 

Charlotte Thålin, researcher at the Karolinska Institute, explains in the Karolinska Institute's publication that the broad antibody response is an effect of the vaccine only targeting omicrons, which are very different from the original variant.  

 

Ulrika Marking, PhD student at Karolinska Institutet, also adds that they see a stronger increase in neutralizing antibodies than expected, which indicates that the vaccine provides cross-protection against new variants. She also emphasizes the importance of the vaccine for the elderly and risk groups.  

 

The virus is here to stay  

 

 

Niklas Arnberg. Photo: Alexandra Bengtsson/Svd/TT / Svenska Dagbladet  

 

How to think ahead and how many injections to take Niklas Arnberg says that there is no maximum ceiling.  

 

- We have to follow the situation and see how it develops in the future. I can imagine that people who are in risk groups, elderly and frail, will probably need to take at least one injection every fall or winter. Some groups may even need two. 

 

- But others may also need to take an injection from time to time. So we'll probably have to live with this a bit like we've learned to live with the flu where you get a shot roughly every winter. 

 

Because, according to Niklas, covid is here to stay. 

 

- We will not get rid of this virus, but it is here to stay. We know of four other types of coronavirus that cause relatively mild respiratory infections. This will probably become something like that eventually, but so far it has not landed and become a seasonal coronavirus like the others.  

 

 

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