Comparison between Antibodies Produced as a Result of Natural Infection and Vaccination

How are antibodies from natural infection and antibodies from Vaccination different? Learn more…

Monday, 17th May 2021

With recent spikes and subsequent slowdown in the number of Covid-19 cases along with high recovery rates, people are showing an interest in “antibodies”, those generated via a vaccine as well as those gained through an infection. The question that arises now is what is the difference?

What are antibodies?

Natural infection by a foreign substance or vaccine triggers the production of antibodies or protective proteins in the body by their immune system. These are fighter cells that that are produced to protect the body when exposed to such disease-causing foreign pathogens.

These are also a sort of memory cells that can identify and help fight the same virus when the body comes face to face with it again. This is done with the help of proteins called antigens on the surface of these antibodies, which either completely fight off the invading foreign pathogen or lock them on to their antigens which then get neutralized by other immune cells.

However, antibodies produced in a body by natural infection and those produced by a vaccine differ from each other.

Also Read: Vital Facts about Covaxin and Covishield.

Antibodies from infection

Coming in contact with the virus gets the body’s immune system working and commencing the procedure of virus recognition and antibody production by B cells in the body. However, some of these turn out to be effective while others don’t which explains the way your body eliminates the virus and helps you recover.

The body’s immune system also holds on to the memory of the virus to help fight it later, if exposed to it again. However, how long these memory cells remain effective against the Covid-19, is still unknown.

Antibodies from vaccination

Vaccines against Covid-19 prepare your immune system to prepare B cells that can make particular antibodies against the particular virus, by exposing you to a certain number of proteins from the virus.

Hence, without actually getting sick, the Covid-19 shot assists in making memory B cells that release antibodies which in turn can attack the virus.

A comparison

In case of natural infection as well as in vaccination, it could be a while before your body/ immune system produces antibodies that recognize the foreign pathogens.

While in a natural infection, the body produces multiple antibodies, vaccination introduces only a part of the relevant virus. This does not undermine the effectiveness of vaccines as the part of the virus that triggers an antibody response is carefully selected by researchers.

As to what produces better antibodies, it is still difficult to say.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source:

Timesofindia Indiatimes