Immune Systems Are like Our Fingerprints

Consensus View

If asked, many scientists would probably agree with the statement ‘Natural infection gives better immunity than vaccination’. Indeed, if one survives the infection, there are certainly many pathogens for which natural infection induces stronger immune responses and more long-lived immunity than does vaccination.

In a study from Austria,^[6] it had found that—Protection against SARS‐CoV‐2 after natural infection is comparable with the highest available estimates on vaccine efficacies.

Former SARS patients who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 appear able to fend off all variants of SARS-CoV-2 in circulation, as well as ones that may soon emerge, a new study suggests^[8]  Their formidable antibodies may even protect against coronaviruses in other species that have yet to make the jump into humans—and may hold clues to how to make a so-called pancoronavirus vaccine that could forestall future outbreaks. 

 

Based on @EricTopol (a physician-scientist, author, editor):

What vaccination strategies lead to the highest level of neutralizing Ab, immune response, in rank order?  

Here are what he has summarized based on the current available reports and statistics:

1. Prior covid + mRNA 1-dose

2. Adenoviral-vector vaccine 1st dose, mRNA 2nd dose

3. 2 doses mRNA

4. 2 doses adenoviral vector (AZ data) 

But, don't be mistaken.  For most people who is more vulnerable to the COVID-19, vaccination is a good option for them to avoid severe symptoms or even death.

Immune Systems = Fingerprints

The biggest difference between us isn't how we look, it's our immune systems. And guess what? There's no ranking system there - everyone's unique.

In a recent Nature article, researchers explored the rapid evolution of the immune system.^[9] They discovered that interactions between different immune cell types play a crucial role. While mutations can be harmful, these interactions create a buffer, allowing for variation in immune traits without significant harm. This adaptation helps the immune system respond effectively to new threats, such as viruses and bacteria, while maintaining complexity and adaptability. 

In summary, our immune systems are:

• Highly individual and complex
• Are almost as specific to each of us as our fingerprints
• The immune system in mammals is particularly adept at evolving quickly.
• Diverse in how they respond to different diseases
• Diversity is essential to how our species survives disease
• Diversity comes down to our inherited genetic makeup
• The greatest diversity in all of the 25,000 genes that make up the human genome is in our few immune system genes
• The genes that vary most between us all are the ones that influence the immune system

Multiple factors affect our immunity:

• Lifestyle 
• Stress can negatively impact immune function
• Chronic long term stress produces cortisol, which neutralizes immune cells
• Sleep has a massive impact on the immune system
• It’s under the control of circadian rhythms and disturbing it can throw out your immune system
• Microbiome
• Although gut microbiome directly affects the immune system, precisely how isn’t yet clear

Figure 1. Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Trained Innate Immunity (details) 

Superhuman Health?

For doctors and immunologists, the notion of superhuman health remains at best unproven and at worst a fiction. The unparalleled diversity of our immune systems makes generalizations about stronger or weaker immune systems meaningless.

So why do some people simply seem to be better at fighting infection than others?  Maybe...

• People at the top end have been primed through early exposure to bugs, fully vaccinated, and so on
• Each person is wired to be slightly better at fighting off some illnesses and slightly worse at fighting off others
• Healthy diets translates into better immunity

Perhaps we should view viruses not as the enemy but as the educators of our immune systems.

Understanding of the way the immune system operates - the innate and acquired systems working in tandem to neutralize infection so that a cold is, in fact, evidence of an immune system working robustly

References

1. The secrets of people who never get sick
2. Coronavirus—What Makes Some Patients Sicker than Others?
3. Why women live longer than men?
4. Natural Immunity
5. Why is Covid-19 more dangerous for older people?
6. SARS‐CoV‐2 re‐infection risk in Austria
7. How to keep your immune system strong?  
8. COVID-19 vaccines may trigger superimmunity in people who had SARS long ago
9. Interactions between immune cell types facilitate the evolution of immune traits
10. Study sheds light on the immune system's evolution