Imprinting is the tendency for someone's initial exposure to a virus to bias their immune response when they meet the same virus again. This phenomenon can explain some observations from the past, such as the surprisingly high mortality among young adults during the 1918 influenza pandemic. In this episode, how your first brush with COVID warps your immunity. Join the summer of 2022 with the Omicron Coronavirus variant running rampant.
Imprinting is a quirk of the immune system in which someone’s initial exposure to a virus biases their immune response when they meet the same virus again.
Studies are showing how imprinting shapes people’s responses to SARS-CoV-2; those infected with earlier strains can mount weaker responses to a later Omicron infection.
This phenomenon is dampening the hope that variant-tailored boosters will markedly reduce transmission of the virus, although researchers agree that variant-tailored boosters are worth getting because they still provide some immunity, and prevent serious illness.
This is an audio version of our Feature: How your first brush with COVID warps your immunity
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