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Neutralization assays only use the plasma - meaning that the B Cells are subtracted. So to begin with, they don't really say anything about real life memory immune response, where stimulated memory B Cells divide and mature and start kicking out thousands of antibodies per second. You can really plug your own model for infection and immu…
Neutralization assays only use the plasma - meaning that the B Cells are subtracted. So to begin with, they don't really say anything about real life memory immune response, where stimulated memory B Cells divide and mature and start kicking out thousands of antibodies per second. You can really plug your own model for infection and immunity in here, since there's so much we actually don't know. In my model, antibody ramp-up isn't likely to stop reinfection, only to ward off viremia (virus shedding into bloodstream) - but exactly *because* of this deficiency, the immune system is going to be stimulated anew - so, likely increased/improved mucosal immunity / resident T Cells after "breakthrough" infection, leading to higher resilience against symptomatic / PCR-detected reinfection down the line. For Omicron I've speculated that the altered tropism forces the Covid-vaccinated and naturally infected alike to replay this learning experience, and now there will be higher defenses in the upper respiratory tract.
Interesting -- we'll probably have to wait until next winter to really see what happens after Omicron. As you pointed out, 1-2 months is not enough time
to say anything but speculate.