Column #278

There’s been a debate for some months now about how long immunity lasts after an actual COVID-19 infection versus the vaccine. Of course, some folks say it’s much better to gain immunity through a vaccine because the virus kills. But even the vaccine has caused some negative reactions and I’ve heard that, in some hospitals, about half of the employees take a pass on the shot for now.

About 90% of the COVID-19-associated deaths are concentrated in just 9% of the population. That’s the folks over 70, particularly those with multiple chronic conditions. Their case fatality rate is 5.4%. The 50 to 69 group has a very low 0.5% fatality rate. The 20 to 49 population has a 0.02% fatality rate. The fatality rate for the zero to 19 group is an infinitesimally small 0.003%, which is less than influenza. It’s very obvious who is most vulnerable and needs the vaccine first. It’s just as obvious that 91% of the population should not be locked down at all.

Currently, the daily statistics indicate 19.2 million Americans have tested positive. But we know officially reported cases may be just 20% of the actual number. Many mild cases and most asymptomatic cases go unreported. If that’s true, then maybe 96 million Americans have already established immunity. That’s about 29% of the population which is why knowing how long immunity lasts is important.

On November 17, 2020, the “New York Times” published “Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint.” The article was based on a press release from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology.1 2

This is a shortened version of that press release:

Published in today’s online edition of Cell, the study documents a robust antiviral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in a group of 20 adults who had recovered from COVID-19.

“If we had seen only marginal immune responses, we would have been concerned,” says Sette, a professor in the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, and adds, “but what we see is a very robust T cell response against the spike protein, which is the target of most ongoing COVID-19 efforts, as well as other viral proteins. These findings are really good news for vaccine development.”

“We specifically chose to study people who had a normal disease course and didn’t require hospitalization to provide a solid benchmark for what a normal immune response looks like, since the virus can do some very unusual things in some people,” says Sette.

The researchers found that all COVID-19 patients had a solid CD4, or “helper,” T cell response, which helps antibody production. Almost all patients had produced virus-specific CD8, or “killer,” T cells, which eliminate virus-infected cells. “Our data show that the virus induces what you would expect from a typical, successful antiviral response,” says Crotty.

The “New York Times” article made some additional points.

It concluded that immunity to the coronavirus might last years, maybe even decades!

Most of the people who have recovered from COVID-19 had enough immune cells to fend off the virus and prevent illness eight months after infection. Such a slow rate of decline suggests that these cells may persist in the body for much longer. “That amount of memory would likely prevent the vast majority of people from getting hospitalized disease, severe disease, for many years,” said Shane Crotty.

A recent finding showed that survivors of SARS, another coronavirus, still carry certain important immune cells 17 years after recovering. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, said she was not surprised that the body mounts a long-lasting response because “that’s what is supposed to happen.”

Reports that people in Britain with detectable COVID-19 antibodies saw them drop by roughly 27% over three months this past summer, prompted fearful headlines in the MSM that immunity to the virus is short-lived. Scott Hensley, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, responded to the hysteria by saying, “Some of these headlines are silly.” It’s normal for that to happen after a body clears an infection, but immune cells carry a memory of the virus and can churn out fresh antibodies when needed.

If we can get the MSM, social media giants, and bureaucrats to get out of our faces with their scaremongering, it appears most Americans can take care of themselves. Healthy immune systems will continue to function for fending off COVID-19 just as they do for many other viruses. And in this case, there may be decades of immunity even from asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 which many youngsters in America have already experienced. Herd immunity is working as it should and it’s just as good if not better than the vaccine!3

All this is why you should be very focused on improving your own personal immunity. It is well-established that nutritional deficiencies retard the immune system. A diet that replicates the diet of man prior to the invention of farming will beneficially affect immune function, modulate chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, and decrease infection risk. It starts by striving to balance your Omega-6 to Omega-3 essential fatty acid ratio as close to 1:1 as possible.4 5 6

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don’t miss these links for additional reading:

1. Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint by Apoorva Mandavilli from New York Times

2. First Detailed Analysis of Immune Response to Sars-cov-2 Bodes Well for Covid-19 Vaccine Development from La Jolla Institute for Immunology.

3. WHO Deletes Naturally Acquired Immunity from Its Website by Jeffrey A. Tucker from American Institute for Economic Research

4. Basics in Clinical Nutrition: Immunonutrition – Nutrients Which Influence Immunity: Effect and Mechanism of Action by Robert F. Grimble

5. Nutritional Modulation of Immune Function: Analysis of Evidence, Mechanisms, and Clinical Relevance by Dayong Wu1, et al.

6. Food Analysis: EFA, Protein to Fat, Net Carbs, Sugar, and Nutrient Load by Ted Slanker