Here you go (I could edit it & none of you cheapskates would know 8) )
Managed to dodge Covid? UniSA Professor Adrian Esterman explains some of the possible reasons
Why do some people manage to dodge Covid, despite being exposed to the virus through close contact with infected family or friends? An Adelaide scientist explains.
Clare Peddie
Science Writer
2 min read
June 7, 2022 - 8:00PM
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot has been honoured with knighthood as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours. Mr Soriot, who holds Australian citizenship, is being rewarded for spearheading the first COVID-19 vaccine.
If you have escaped Covid infection so far, despite exposure as a close contact, consider yourself lucky. But that luck could soon run out, scientists say.
UniSA biostatistics and epidemiology Professor Adrian Esterman says scientists all over the world are trying to work out why some people catch Covid while others don’t.
“It’s likely that some people have quite strong immune systems and others don’t,” he said. “That’s the simple answer. We really don’t know much more than that. It’s a lottery.”
The booster shot helps to prevent infection for a few months, but that protection wanes over time, Prof Esterman said. Fortunately the booster appears to provide longer lasting protection against severe disease, so those who do catch Covid are less likely to die or suffer severe complications.
People who are younger, fitter and healthier may have stronger immune systems that are better able to fight off an infection, though there are always exceptions.
And then some people may benefit from recent exposure to a similar virus that provides a level of cross-protection.
“You have people who are living with family members with Covid-19 and never get it, they share the same bed even and they still don’t get it,” Prof Esterman said.
Or they may have had Covid without knowing it, experiencing very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, he said.
Anyone who is concerned that they may be suffering some of the long-term consequences of Covid infection, without having ever tested positive to Covid, can ask their GP for a blood test. Serology checks for antibodies against the virus and can tell the difference between antibodies produced following infection and those from vaccination.
Prof Esterman is concerned about the prospect of a new variant “as bad as Delta or worse and as transmissible as Omicron” emerging before the next generation of vaccines become available.
In the meantime, he strongly advocates for the use of masks in public places and is adamant that the booster shot is essential. Anything less is worse than a lottery, it’s playing Russian roulette.
“At the moment, the third shot for most people is sufficient, it gives reasonably good protection against serious illness and death for many, many months, we‘re talking about eight months or longer,” he said.
“So for the moment it’s not considered worthwhile giving a fourth dose to most people because it wouldn’t give them that much added protection.”
He said some of the big vaccine manufacturers would soon be bringing out “second generation vaccines”, including Moderna’s bivalent vaccine designed to stimulate a response to both the original Wuhan strain and the more highly transmissible variant Omicron.
“When these become available, and they almost certainly will be available later on this year, then I think it will be worthwhile vaccinating everyone else with that fourth shot,” he said.
Booney blows goats - I have proof