Omicron: 10 Facts About Human Immunity Scientists Have Discovered

Key Takeaways:

• The rapid spread of Omicron throughout the world when the world has already experienced two pandemic waves has revealed several unexpected aspects of the human immune system.

The rapid growth of Omicron throughout the world when the world has already experienced two waves of the pandemic has revealed several surprising aspects of the human immune system. The immune system remembers previous infections, but for SARS-CoV-2, it hasn't been long. 

A study published in Nature went into great detail about this, describing how the immune system works against Covid and its variants.

Here are the 10 most significant facts about human immunity:

1. B cells are the first responders and are activated when a pathogen attacks. B cells produce antibodies before dying.

2. Scientists were not surprised that neutralizing antibody levels dropped after a few months because antibodies are supposed to degrade wane.

3. There are two types of B cells: short-lived B cells and long-lived B cells. While short-lived B cells die, some long-lived B cells become memory B cells, which can rapidly divide and become plasma cells when a virus encounters them. These cells will accompany us for the rest of our lives.

4. The memory B cell's response improves over time. A study discovered that people had an increased number of memory B cells that responded to new variants six months after vaccination.

5. T cells are another pillar of immune memory. They kill the virus while also signaling other parts of the immune system to respond to the virus attack. Some T cells then develop into memory T cells.

7. Some people may have memory T cells from previous coronavirus infections, such as those that cause common colds, capable of recognizing SARS-CoV-2.

8. Immunologists have discovered that memory cells cannot block infection in the same way that neutralizing antibodies do, but they do not have to.

9. After the Covid-19 infection, the memory cells have some time to recover because serious illness does not usually occur immediately. Memory T cells are doing their jobs at this time. "When these cells are re-exposed to a virus or booster, they go into overdrive. You can get a tenfold rise in the number of memory T cells in 24 hours, "According to the study.

10. Despite a large number of mutations, people who had been vaccinated or infected with SARS-CoV-2 had roughly the same T-cell response to Omicron as they did to the Delta variant, according to several studies.