by James Lyons-Weiler, PhD, Popular Rationalism, ©2024
(Sep. 28, 2024) — The rapid decline of immunity after COVID-19 vaccination has left many wondering why these vaccines, despite their initial success, have not provided lasting protection. But what if the problem wasn’t a surprise at all? What if, based on long-established methods used to study basic immunology, we could have anticipated this outcome? Recent research has confirmed that one critical piece of the puzzle—long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs)—is missing from the immune response generated by mRNA vaccines, raising questions about whether the limitations of these vaccines were knowable from the start.
Introduction
The durability of immune protection is directly linked to the presence of long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) in the bone marrow. These specialized cells produce antibodies over extended periods, often for years or decades, following infection or vaccination. Without LLPCs, the immune system cannot maintain long-term antibody levels, leading to a gradual loss of protection against the targeted pathogen.
The failure of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines to establish LLPCs was predictable. Immunologists have long known that LLPCs are essential for lasting immunity, and the absence of these cells means that vaccine-induced protection is inherently short-lived. Given this understanding, it’s worth examining why the potential durability issues with mRNA vaccines were not more thoroughly considered during their development and rollout.
Aims of the Study
A recent study led by F. Eun-Hyung Lee aimed to investigate why antibody levels decline so rapidly after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. Specifically, the study sought to determine whether these vaccines could generate LLPCs, the cells responsible for maintaining antibody levels long after the initial immune response has faded. The question at the heart of the study was simple but profound: Did the mRNA vaccine fail to establish LLPCs as some immunologists had predicted?
What They Did
To address this question, researchers collected bone marrow samples from individuals who had received mRNA vaccines and compared them to samples from people vaccinated against other diseases, such as flu and tetanus. Using single-cell transcriptomics, they analyzed plasma cell populations, focusing on whether LLPCs specific to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were present in the bone marrow.
By comparing these results to known LLPC populations for flu and tetanus vaccines, the researchers could determine whether the absence of LLPCs was specific to the COVID-19 vaccine platform or a broader immunological issue.
What They Found
The results were clear: No SARS-CoV-2-specific LLPCs were found in the bone marrow of individuals vaccinated with mRNA vaccines, even in those who had also been infected with the virus. This was visualized in the study’s Figure 1, which showed that SARS-CoV-2-specific LLPCs were nearly undetectable in vaccinated individuals. In contrast, LLPCs for tetanus and flu vaccines were readily found, supporting the idea that the mRNA platform uniquely failed to induce these long-lived immune cells.
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Is the article also saying the many negative side effects, (which are not admitted by the drug companies), should also go away quickly, or is it just the immune cells? If the protection is short lived perhaps the possible negative effects also are. That might be good news for old people like me who took 2 of the shots, but will probably die of old age before the shots kill them… :-)