Biotech Values

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Burton, D.R., Topol, E.J. Toward superhuman SARS-CoV-2 immunity?. Nat Med (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-01180-x

To the Editor - If asked, many scientists would probably agree with the statement ‘Natural infection gives better immunity than vaccination’. Indeed, if one survives the infection, there are certainly many pathogens for which natural infection induces stronger immune responses and more long-lived immunity than does vaccination. Measles is prototypic of this. While there was a clear risk, after infection, of death, encephalitis and pneumonia before there was a vaccine, survivors gained lifelong immunity. Vaccination against measles, on the other hand, requires two shots and may not offer lifelong complete protection but has proven to be good enough to keep the disease in check when widely implemented.

In contrast to the measles virus, there are a number of pathogens for which vaccination generates stronger immune responses and more-effective protection against disease than does natural infection. In these cases, the man-made vaccine is ‘superhuman’; that is, it gives humans immune responses superior to those generated in response to infection. …

Where does the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 lie along the spectrum of natural infection versus vaccine-induced protective efficacy? The answer to this question will be known only as more data are collected from ongoing natural infection and vaccine studies; the initial results from interim analyses by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna of mRNA vaccines against SAR-CoV-2 showing a reduction in infections of around 95% are very encouraging7. …

Overall, we are optimistic, given the number of platforms being investigated and the huge ongoing efforts, that a vaccine (or vaccines) against COVID-19 with immune responses and protection superior to that achieved through natural infection is an achievable goal.