Hybrid immunity is obtained from a combination of natural infection and vaccination.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Pulmonary specialists and academics at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga (Unair) RSUD Dr Soetomo, Dr Helmia Hasan, explained that although there is hybrid immunity against Covid-19, but health protocol still need to be done to avoid re-infection. In a virtual discussion held by PDPI about super immunity against Covid-19, he explained that the term super immunity is actually almost never seen in medical studies.
The term is more appropriate if it is called hybrid immunity or individual immunity obtained from a combination of immunity obtained from natural infection and vaccination. “Indeed, the combination of someone who has been sick and then received a vaccination has a higher antibody response,” said Helmia in a virtual discussion from Jakarta, Saturday (22/1/2022).
In theory, he explained, individuals who have been vaccinated and who have been infected have a low risk of re-infection. Natural infections and vaccinations produce neutralizing antibodies which have a major protective role against Covid-19.
He explained that the number of memory B cells, which are responsible for storing or remembering genes from foreign substances to produce antibodies, increased 5-10 times in hybrid immunity compared to natural infection or vaccination alone. Neutralizing antibodies are also 100 times higher if they have hybrid immunity compared to immunity resulting from infection or vaccination alone.
“A person with hybrid immunity is very rarely seriously ill and that the incidence of infection after hybrid immunity is also rare, compared to non-hybrid immunity,” he explained.
However, he emphasized that although there is hybrid immunity, there is a risk of contracting it because of the mutated character of the virus which is difficult to identify. For this reason, health protocols are the main thing in preventing Covid-19.
“Keep the health protocol because we don’t really know antibody condition us in the body, the condition of our cells in the body. So we continue to carry out health protocols so we don’t get infected again,” he said.
source: Between
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