Studies have demonstrated that natural immunity may wane over time, leading to susceptibility to revisits of infections, whereas vaccines are periodically updated to address emerging variants, such as in the case of influenza. Exploring this disparity is one approach to developing more durable protection vaccines. However, immunity conveyed by vaccines that target conserved components is likely to last longer than immunity from natural infection
A longer durability of neutralization efficacy would slow the emergence of escape variants. Let’s dive into what makes these two types of immunity distinct and why the conversation matters. While it can last for months or even years, natural immunity can also wane, especially in the face of new variants or mutations of pathogens
While vaccines play a role in disease prevention, natural immunity offers unique benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked