Vaccination protects people who have recovered from Covid-19 from variants of the coronavirus, according to new research.
Viruses change over time as they accrue mutations, leading to new strains, which can be more transmissible, deadly – or both.
Scientists say that could put people at risk of reinfection.
Studies have shown the immune response produced by an infection by an original strain is not as strong against some variants.
One that emerged in Brazil, for instance, was able to infect 25 to 61 per cent of people who should have expected to be immune after recovering from an earlier bout of Covid-19. The research was carried out in the rainforest city of Manaus, which suffered two severe waves of the virus.
The strain, called P1, was found to be six times less sensitive to antibodies produced by the original virus that emerged in China.
But early research from the US has found that people can better protect themselves from emerging strains by getting vaccinated.
Although the sample size was small, the results were encouraging for researchers.
The study looked at antibodies produced by 10 people who recovered from a previous infection before and after they received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. This was compared to 20 people with no history of infection before they were vaccinated. Their blood was tested against the UK, South African and Brazilian strains.
Vaccination significantly boosted pre-existing levels of antibodies to the spike among the 10 who recovered from the virus. It was not, however, significantly higher compared to the 20 who had no prior infection.
But the neutralising ability of those who previously had the virus was noticeably higher, said researchers.
“Vaccination boosted pre-existing levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies 10-fold in previously infected individuals, but not to levels significantly higher than those of uninfected vaccines,” wrote the study authors from Oregon Health and Science University.
“However, neutralising antibody titers increased in previously infected vaccinees relative to uninfected vaccinees against every variant tested: 5.2-fold against B.1.1.7 [UK variant], 6.5-fold against B. 1.351 [South African variant], 4.3-fold against P. 1 [Brazilian variant], and 3.4-fold against original SARS-CoV-2.”
That means a “first generation” Covid-19 vaccine provides “broad protection” from SARS-CoV-2 variants in those who had a previous infection, they said.
The neutralising ability of vaccines has been effected by variants, but in most cases they still work.
A recent study found the Covaxin remains effective against the recently discovered Indian variant.
Blood serum was collected from 12 people who experienced symptomatic or asymptomatic infections from the Indian variant and fully recovered. Samples were also collected from people who had been vaccinated.
They were then tested to see how well they neutralised the Indian variant and both batches offered high levels of protection. The serums from recovered patients provided 87 per cent immunity and the serums of vaccine recipients 88 per cent.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine also appears to be effective against it, said BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin.
"We are still testing ... but the Indian variant has mutations that we have already tested for and which our vaccine works against, so I am confident," he said last week.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Squad for first two ODIs
Kohli (c), Rohit, Dhawan, Rayudu, Pandey, Dhoni (wk), Pant, Jadeja, Chahal, Kuldeep, Khaleel, Shami, Thakur, Rahul.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.