[2006alum]

Immunity to other coronaviruses (the ones that cause a common cold) lasts for about a year, unfortunately.  It isn't because the virus mutates, but rather because immunity to different viruses wanes at different rates (for example, immunity to chicken pox lasts a lifetime).

BC

Yikes. BC, if that's so, then does that suggest a vaccine isn't actually a panacea after all, and we will now need to live with annual COVID-19 resurgences the way we live with resurgences of the flu and common colds? Given how much more dire the case outcomes are, that's terrifying if so.

Maybe I missed the response to this in all the cross-chatter, but I'm still wondering why we think a vaccine is a panacea if it turns out our immunity could wane relatively rapidly. Stories like this one are beginning to concern me:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Laurie_Garrett/status/1243328270059405312?s=20[/tweet]

Although this is being freshly reported, I think that story is based off of a study released a few weeks ago. But it raises the same concern - if the immunity is temporary, would that mean we'd need to get re-immunized as often as annually? I'd welcome any input from experts in medicine or immunology on this, because it seems like we've all been operating under the assumption that social distancing and testing, contact tracing, and isolation are stopgaps to getting a "cure" in the form of immunization.

[2006alum]

Immunity to other coronaviruses (the ones that cause a common cold) lasts for about a year, unfortunately.  It isn't because the virus mutates, but rather because immunity to different viruses wanes at different rates (for example, immunity to chicken pox lasts a lifetime).

BC

Yikes. BC, if that's so, then does that suggest a vaccine isn't actually a panacea after all, and we will now need to live with annual COVID-19 resurgences the way we live with resurgences of the flu and common colds? Given how much more dire the case outcomes are, that's terrifying if so.

Maybe I missed the response to this in all the cross-chatter, but I'm still wondering why we think a vaccine is a panacea if it turns out our immunity could wane relatively rapidly. Stories like this one are beginning to concern me:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Laurie_Garrett/status/1243328270059405312?s=20[/tweet]

Although this is being freshly reported, I think that story is based off of a study released a few weeks ago. But it raises the same concern - if the immunity is temporary, would that mean we'd need to get re-immunized as often as annually? I'd welcome any input from experts in medicine or immunology on this, because it seems like we've all been operating under the assumption that social distancing and testing, contact tracing, and isolation are stopgaps to getting a "cure" in the form of immunization.