ST. LOUIS — Washington University researchers on Monday released a study further suggesting that the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines offer monthslong protection from the virus.
No one had yet studied whether the vaccines create persistent responses in key parts of the lymph nodes, the researchers said. Their data was published Monday in the journal Nature.
“This is evidence of a really robust immune response,” co-senior author Dr. Rachel Presti, an associate professor of medicine, said in a statement.
The vaccines have already been studied in large clinical trials. The original Pfizer vaccine trial included nearly 38,000 participants, and tracked the number of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals who became infected with COVID-19 over the course of months. But the study released Monday looked at the mechanism by which the body responds to the virus.
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The researchers looked in structures within lymph nodes called germinal centers, which train immune cells to better recognize the virus and respond. The study included 14 people who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both use mRNA technology, in order to teach the body’s cells to make proteins, or pieces of proteins, that trigger an immune response to the virus.
Samples were taken from the participants just before they received the second dose of vaccine, and again one, two, and four weeks after that.
Of the 14 participants, 10 gave samples 12 weeks after the second dose. Eight of them still had detectable germinal centers producing immune cells against the virus.
The researchers also took blood samples from 41 healthy adults, eight of whom had previously had COVID-19. After vaccination, the individuals who had recovered from a previous infection had the strongest antibody responses.
“We didn’t set out to compare the effectiveness of vaccination in people with and without a history of infection, but when we looked at the data we could see an effect,” Dr. Jane O’Halloran, co-first author and assistant professor of medicine, said in a statement. “If you’ve already been infected and then you get vaccinated, you get a boost to your antibody levels. The vaccine clearly adds benefit, even in the context of prior infection, which is why we recommend that people who have had COVID-19 get the vaccine.”
COVID-19 in Missouri and Illinois: By the numbers
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation. That date's data has been removed from this display.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number. That date's data has been removed from this display.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
NOTE: On Oct. 11, Missouri announced that a database error had resulted in an “incorrect inflation” of cases in its Oct. 10 report
Note from St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force: The data includes patients at BJC HealthCare, SSM Health and St. Luke's Hospital. As of Jan. 17, 2022, the data includes patients at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System.
Note from Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: Note: Due to an abrupt change in data measures and the reporting platform issued by the White House on Monday, July 13, and effective Wednesday, July 15, Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) and the State of Missouri were unable to access hospitalization data during the transition. .
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) began counting probable death along with confirmed deaths.
