May 26, 1402 at 14:32
Corona vaccine was able to control the wave of deaths caused by this virus. However, the safety of the corona vaccine is not eternal and apparently it disappears earlier in obese people.
Different people’s bodies react differently to the corona vaccine. For many, there is no special problem, and a few face relatively severe complications. Studies show that this difference is not limited to the initial reaction and apparently the effectiveness of the corona vaccine is less for some people than for others.
The durability and effectiveness of the corona vaccine is much less in obese people
This group includes the elderly or people whose immune system is weakened for reasons such as cancer or other medical problems. Normally, these people are more at risk of contracting Covid-19 than others. However, shortly after the spread of the Corona epidemic, it became clear that this group includes more people.
In fact, obese people or those who struggle with obesity-related issues such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic kidney disease have a higher chance of contracting the severe type of corona. Now it is known that the effect of corona vaccine on the immune system of obese people disappears much earlier than others.
Scientists already knew that the effect of influenza, hepatitis and rabies vaccines also disappears earlier in obese people than others. The Covid-19 vaccine produces specific antibodies that can recognize the spike protein. This protein is located on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) and provides the conditions for infecting body cells.
Of course, this is not the only effectiveness of the vaccine. Moreover, the vaccine also strengthens T immune cells so that if the same person is infected with the corona virus, the disease will not be severe. Due to the fact that the immunity obtained as a result of two doses of the corona vaccine is lost within a few months, many countries ask vulnerable groups to inject a booster dose of the vaccine.
At the beginning of the corona epidemic, some reports were published that apparently the effectiveness of the corona vaccine is less durable in obese people. This also made a team from the University of Cambridge and Edinburgh decide to investigate the matter. They evaluated data from 5.4 million people across Scotland. Specifically, they looked at 3.5 million people who had received two doses of the corona vaccine (Pfizer or AstraZeneca) to find out their hospitalizations and deaths.
Studies have shown that people with extreme obesity (BMI score of more than 40) are 76% more likely to be hospitalized and die from Covid-19 than other people who have received the corona vaccine. The risk is also somewhat lower for obese people (with a BMI between 30 and 40) and people who are too thin (with a BMI of less than 18.5).
Also, the possibility of contracting severe corona due to penetration into the body’s immune system after receiving two doses of the corona vaccine is also much higher in extremely obese people. This happens to these people about 10 weeks after the injection of the vaccine. While relatively obese people are at risk of severe corona after 15 weeks and normal people are safe up to 20 weeks.
The team also decided to measure how the immune system would respond to a booster dose of an mRNA-based vaccine (such as Pfizer or Moderna) in super-obese people. They looked at 28 morbidly obese people who attended Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. The scientists wanted to find out about the level and function of the antibodies in the body of these people, as well as the number of their immune cells after the vaccine. The obtained results were compared with the statistics of 41 people with normal weight.
Although the antibodies in all participants’ bodies were at similar levels before receiving the booster dose, the ability of the antibodies to fight the virus was much lower in the super-obese. Only 12% of normal people do not have the ability to fight the virus or neutralize it; But this rate reaches 55% in extremely obese people.
In fact, the results of this research clearly show that the ability of the corona vaccine to create high-quality antibodies in extremely obese people is much less. Of course, the function of antibodies in obese people becomes similar to normal people after receiving a booster dose. However, detailed studies of B cells (cells responsible for antibody production and immune memory) showed that these cells develop differently during the first weeks of vaccination.
Interestingly, the effectiveness of the corona vaccine in extremely obese people decreases even earlier after receiving the third dose. Of course, the second part of the mentioned research was done in a relatively limited community and it should be repeated on a larger scale to reach more accurate results.
However, it seems that corona vaccines do not have much effect in very obese people and their durability is also less. Receiving booster doses of the corona vaccine can improve the condition of these people to some extent; But it is better to reduce their weight to some extent by changing their lifestyle or by using medicinal methods. Especially, losing 5% of weight can significantly reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related complications.
