Hi Sarb, I'm not sure if it's a minority, but if it is I'm there with you. A couple of weeks ago I met with a group of six people and only one of that group had had Covid. While a lot of people have had it, a big number that is part of a much bigger number (5M) is still a small proportion. Just guessing on that one, but I'm Covid free and hoping to stay that way.
Thank you for this Sarb. I, and a number of my colleagues, have been discussing this recently. We also seem to be in a minority of those not having had COVID. I wonder if future research will show why some have a level of immunity? We all work at a hospital & have gone to work every day since the start of the pandemic- maybe some immunity from persistent low level exposure? Some have suggested it’s to do with age &/or having had smallpox vaccination in our younger years. I look forward to more on this.
Hi Heather - good to hear from you. I know there is some research ongoing about t-cell vs antibody mediated immunity, with the idea that t-cell mediated immunity might be very effective in ways that we don't understand very well. I saw a piece published in the Telegraph in the UK overnight saying that any combination of 3 vaccines gives similar results regarding immunity, meaning that the mix-and-match vaccine regime loses its lustre. It certainly seems possible that vaccine plus asymptomatic infection might afford some kind of longer lasting protection. It's so hard to know, especially now that we and many other countries have stopped recording cases in as much detail as we were. To a some extent, we have less information, not more. And that concerns me. I haven't seen anything on smallpox vaccine offering protection, but there is some work out around how the old BCG vaccine (for TB) seems to offer some protection against Covid-19 in mice. https://www.malaghan.org.nz/news-and-reports/news/preclinical-study-finds-tb-vaccine-effective-at-preventing-serious-covid-19-illness/#:~:text=A%20collaborative%20study%20between%20the,in%20mice%20when%20administered%20intravenously.
This is such a great example of most things being relative - “would you like a vaccination/injection?” ‘No!’ “You have a choice: a vaccination or do a headspring vault” ‘I’ll have the vaccination!’
Hi Sarb, I'm not sure if it's a minority, but if it is I'm there with you. A couple of weeks ago I met with a group of six people and only one of that group had had Covid. While a lot of people have had it, a big number that is part of a much bigger number (5M) is still a small proportion. Just guessing on that one, but I'm Covid free and hoping to stay that way.
Hi Robert. Reinfections appear to be happening more often overseas, and we are perhaps seeing the leading edge of that here in NZ. It's so hard to tell now though because we don't appear to be capturing that data https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/468169/covid-19-reinfections-not-being-tracked-in-nz-as-examples-tipped-to-rise#pq=fsLNXJ Keep well, stay well, and wishing you a Covid-free winter and beyond!
Thank you for this Sarb. I, and a number of my colleagues, have been discussing this recently. We also seem to be in a minority of those not having had COVID. I wonder if future research will show why some have a level of immunity? We all work at a hospital & have gone to work every day since the start of the pandemic- maybe some immunity from persistent low level exposure? Some have suggested it’s to do with age &/or having had smallpox vaccination in our younger years. I look forward to more on this.
Hi Heather - good to hear from you. I know there is some research ongoing about t-cell vs antibody mediated immunity, with the idea that t-cell mediated immunity might be very effective in ways that we don't understand very well. I saw a piece published in the Telegraph in the UK overnight saying that any combination of 3 vaccines gives similar results regarding immunity, meaning that the mix-and-match vaccine regime loses its lustre. It certainly seems possible that vaccine plus asymptomatic infection might afford some kind of longer lasting protection. It's so hard to know, especially now that we and many other countries have stopped recording cases in as much detail as we were. To a some extent, we have less information, not more. And that concerns me. I haven't seen anything on smallpox vaccine offering protection, but there is some work out around how the old BCG vaccine (for TB) seems to offer some protection against Covid-19 in mice. https://www.malaghan.org.nz/news-and-reports/news/preclinical-study-finds-tb-vaccine-effective-at-preventing-serious-covid-19-illness/#:~:text=A%20collaborative%20study%20between%20the,in%20mice%20when%20administered%20intravenously.
Thank you. This is very interesting. I remember lining up at school for the BCG vaccine
Me too - got pulled out of PE to line up. I was about to have to do headspring vault in gymnastics. I preferred going to get the vaccine.
This is such a great example of most things being relative - “would you like a vaccination/injection?” ‘No!’ “You have a choice: a vaccination or do a headspring vault” ‘I’ll have the vaccination!’
Ha - I didn't have any choice, but if I did, your scenario works.