There has been an interesting development in ongoing research on COVID-19. From a piece at SciTechDaily:
A scientific breakthrough against COVID-19 has been realized by Tel Aviv University. A team of scientists from the university has demonstrated that antibodies isolated from the immune system of recovered COVID-19 patients are effective in neutralizing all known strains of the virus. This includes the Delta and the Omicron variants. This discovery may eliminate the need for repeated booster vaccinations and strengthen the immune system of populations at risk, according to the researchers.
Dr. Natalia Freund and doctoral students Michael Mor and Ruofan Lee of the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine led the research. The study was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Ben Croker of the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Prof. Ye Xiang of Tsinghua University in Beijing as well as Prof. Meital Gal-Tanamy and Dr. Moshe Dessau of Bar-Ilan University also took part in the study. The study was published on August 5 in the Nature journal Communications Biology.
The current study is a continuation of a preliminary study that was conducted in October 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. At that time, Dr. Freund and her colleagues sequenced all the B immune system cells from the blood of people in Israel who had recovered from the original COVID strain. They isolated nine antibodies that the patients produced. The scientists have now found that some of these antibodies are exceptionally effective in neutralizing the new coronavirus variants, Delta and Omicron.
Dr. Freund: “In the previous study, we showed that the various antibodies that are formed in response to infection with the original virus are directed against different sites of the virus. The most effective antibodies were those that bound to the virus’s ‘spike’ protein, in the same place where the spike binds to the cellular receptor ACE2. Of course, we were not the only ones to isolate these antibodies, and the global health system made extensive use of them until the arrival of the different variants of the coronavirus, which in fact rendered most of those antibodies useless.
“In the current study, we proved that two other antibodies, TAU-1109 and TAU-2310, which bind the viral spike protein in a different area from the region where most of the antibodies were concentrated until now (and were, therefore, less effective in neutralizing the original strain) are actually very effective in neutralizing the Delta and Omicron variants. According to our findings, the effectiveness of the first antibody, TAU-1109, in neutralizing the Omicron strain is 92%, and in neutralizing the Delta strain, 90%. The second antibody, TAU-2310, neutralizes the Omicron variant with an efficacy of 84%, and the Delta variant with an efficacy of 97%.â€
If this discovery can be capitalized on, it might increase the likelihood of actually stamping out COVID-19, the much-touted “herd resistance”. Present vaccines are clearly not effective enough and the need for repeated vaccinations reduces the likelihood of people actually seeking them.
Fauci, I recall, dismissed the protection derived from the natural immunity bestowed on those recovering from COVID. Instead, he vigorously pushed for vaccination – mandating it – which ironically seemed to lower immunity, creating a greater vulnerability to become infected, and even reinfected. This has been exemplified by the many cases of COVID hitting people having 2 shots and 2 boosters. In fact, almost everyone I know, who were fully vaccinated, came down with COVID. .
If I’ve had it, it was asymptomatic. Or at least it had symptoms I always have.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
The key observation is there are vaccines that are lifelong effective — and those are for diseases which people can get once in their lifetimes like smallpox. Coronavirus are part of the common cold — and we have observed people can get them yearly or even more often. Unless one figures out why that is the case and solve for that; I am doubtful it will pan out.
Dave, a whole array of physicians and epidemiologists have felt all along there was a huge swath of people asymptomatic for COVID — especially among young children — creating far more cases than were noted in the data. I also think those with strong un-compromised immune systems either completely avoided getting COVID, or had such mild cases they were simply unaware they were sick.
For me i was uncomfortable relying on a product developed at “warped speed,†brought to market via an EUA waiving any liability for pharma, and using a new synthetic mRNA technology on humans like they were lab rats.
Furthermore, forcing people to take these shots or lose their livelihoods, along with the govt and medical establishment subverting all other anti-viral treatment programs or options (as well as threatening any in the medical community with the loss of their licenses or hospital privileges who dissented) seemed rigid and too authoritarian. Consequently, my husband and I opted for a safer road, taking minerals and supplements supporting our immune systems, along with other common sense precautions anyone would apply to avoid the ordinary flu.
I’m just now recovering from Covid – I’ve had it for about a week. I’ve had all the vaccinations I’ve been authorized to have, the last being a booster sometime in the spring. Whether they did anything or not, I can’t say, but the 5G chip at the base of my neck is functioning quite well 😉
Seriously though, it wasn’t pleasant – like a really bad cold/flu with the added bonus of brain fog, but wouldn’t have thought it was anything more than a bad cold absent testing. I didn’t test positive until the third day of symptoms with the home kit and never got a PCR test. So far, no one else in the house seems to have caught it, or at least they are asymptomatic.
I don’t really know where I caught it – I’m mostly a homebody. We did go to Vermont two weeks ago to move my daughter for college – that would have been six days from when we returned to the first symptoms, so that seems the most likely. The other possibility is that one of my other two kids brought it home from school. There is the normal “crud” going around from the start of the school year, and that’s what I initially thought it was. My kids have been fine, though.
Interesting. Will try to look at it later. We know that having covid has not been completely protective, especially with the newer variants. The point Fauci and made was that getting covid just to generate immunity meant you had to endure covid. Not that bad for most but bad for some and fatal for a few. Not the brightest way to do it when vaccines are available. Anyway, if this pans out not sure how we administer it in large enough numbers to eliminate covid.
CO- I think standard thought is that viruses like smallpox dont mutate much so having the illness provides permanent immunity (for the 70% who dont die). Coronaviruses, like the flu, change too much so you dont maintain immunity. We do have plenty of experience making new vaccines every year for flu so making new ones for covid shouldn’t be a problem I think.
Steve