Third vaccination improves immunity of the very elderly

In cooperation with Michael Lohoff, University of Marburg, and Christian Keller, Philipps-University of Marburg, Henrik Mei and colleagues from DRFZ have investigated how the immune system of the elderly, one of the important COVID-19 risk groups, responds to a booster vaccination against the SARS-CoV2 virus.  They have shown that a third dose also results in overall improved immune protection for at least three months in the majority of those who received the booster. Thus basic immunity is usually ensured even in people over 80 years of age after three doses of vaccination. The slower decline in virus-specific antibodies compared to the second vaccination probably indicates the formation of long-lived plasma cells that provide lasting immune protection.