Some people are the owners of a lucky gene that protects them from covid-19 disease. This is according to a study by scientists from the University of Oxford, who found that certain genes can trigger an unusually strong immune response after vaccination.
Researchers from the University of Oxford have investigated whether and how certain genes can help build immunity against covid-19 after vaccination with two commonly used vaccines. Specifically, they monitored reactions to vaccination with substances from AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech. They published the results of the study a few days ago in the professional journal Nature Medicine.
During the research, they managed to identify a specific gene that was associated with a very strong antibody response. People who carry the HLA gene, specifically HLA-DQB1*06, had this “superimmunity”. According to the study, the lucky ones who carry this miracle gene are less likely to get infected with covid-19 after vaccination.
This finding is one of the first evidences of a link between genetics and the way the immune system responds to covid vaccines. “We have evidence that our genetic make-up is one of the reasons why immune responses may differ after vaccination against covid. We found that a specific variant of the HLA gene is associated with a stronger antibody response, but that is only the beginning of the story,” said the professor and lead study author Julian Knight.
According to him, further scientific work is needed so that people can better understand this interesting connection. The findings may help to further improve vaccines to make them as effective as possible for everyone. “We hope this will help us improve vaccines in the future to not only prevent the development of severe disease, but also keep us symptom-free for as long as possible,” said study co-author Alexander Mentzer.
The question is how long people with super immunity will be able to continue to avoid covid. The virus is constantly mutating and improving ways to bypass acquired antibodies. The omicron strain, whose subvariants reduce the effectiveness of vaccine-derived immunity, has proven to be the most effective in this regard.
For example, the omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 is currently gaining prominence. “It seems to be on a sharp upward trajectory in many European countries and in the US, especially in New York,” American cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine Eric Topol assessed the pandemic situation. As a second worrying option, he mentioned XBB, which is behind the new covid wave in Singapore.
The BQ.1.1 variant appears to be on a sharp ascent path in many countries in Europe and the US (<-now ~9%), mainly NY. Graphs by @Mike_Honey_
The other v concerning variant—XBB—is linked to a significant new wave in Singapore with a slope of ascent similar to its BA.2/BA.5 waves pic.twitter.com/1mmcUYAmR8— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 12, 2022
The Singapore government emphasized on its website that the XBB subvariant does not cause more severe disease than previous versions of the virus, and no increase in covid-19 deaths has been observed. “Our data over the past two weeks shows that XBB cases have a 30% lower risk of hospitalization compared to the omicron BA.5 variant,” the Singapore government said.
According to the president of the Czech Medical Chamber, Milan Kubek omikron, there is no flu:
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