Filenews 31 August 2021
The difference in the levels of antibodies achieved between physical illness and vaccination is significant, according to the results of the first part of a major research conducted by the Department of Life and Health Sciences of the University of Nicosia and the Biomedical Group with the support of the company SIEMENS (provision of consumables).
According to yesterday's announcement by the University of Nicosia, the study aims to analyze the levels of antibodies (IgG) in the Cypriot population against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease COVID-19.
The innovation of the research focuses on the "blind" recruitment of volunteers who were invited to participate in the framework of their established clinical analyses in the Chemistry of Giannoukas / Biomedicine Group.
The first part of the research includes data on antibody levels in the population, while the second part will also evaluate the immunity provided by T cells (cellular immunity).
The first cycle of the study includes 591 people aged between 18 and 87 years old from all cities of Cyprus, including people who did not become ill with COVID-19 and were not vaccinated, people who were ill and were not vaccinated, people who were vaccinated and did not get sick and people who became ill and were vaccinated.
This first part of the study leads to important conclusions as to juice immunity (production of B lymphocytes that produce specific antibodies against the virus) against the virus that may help to further address the pandemic.
The results in detail
The results highlight a significant difference in the levels of antibodies achieved between physical illness and vaccination.
Vaccination with any of the approved vaccines in Cyprus leads to the production of significantly higher antibody values than from natural disease and possibly higher juice immunity in all age groups studied.
Equally important is the observation that vaccination after disease results in the production of extremely high levels of antibodies in these people, which demonstrates the importance of vaccinating even people who have been ill in the past.
A comparison between the antibody levels of people who became ill but were not vaccinated and people who were not sick but vaccinated shows that even one dose of vaccine leads to higher antibody values.
The increase in antibody levels after vaccination is also shown by the levels of antibodies in the young age groups in which, although the disease rate is high, antibodies remain low compared to older age groups and this may be due to the lower vaccination rate in this age group.
"Vote of confidence" in the national vaccination programme
As stated by the General Coordinator of the research and President of the Department of Life and Health Sciences of the University of Nicosia, Professor Kyriakos Felekkis, "the continuous evaluation of immunity in the population by collecting data is very important at this stage of the pandemic".
"The results of our research," he noted, "will hopefully contribute to evidence-based policy formulation and formulation, thus helping in the strategy of the vaccination program and in the overall effort to immunize the population."
He also added that "the cooperation of the University of Nicosia with one of the largest organizations providing diagnostic services in our country provides the tools to carry out a comprehensive study of the Cypriot population and draw the right conclusions".
On behalf of the Biomedical Group, Kyriakos Giannoukas expressed his satisfaction for the successful completion of the first part of this large and ambitious research, noting that in turn they give a vote of confidence to the national vaccination program "which, as shown by these first results, creates a significant level of antibodies in the population".
The Members of the Research Team: University of Nicosia: Prof. Kyriakos Felekkis, Dr. Christos Petrou, Dr. Christos Papaneofytou, Dr. Myrtani Pieri, Dr. Vicky Nikolaidou, Dr. Ioannis Sarigiannis and Dr. Eleftheria Galatou
Biomedical Group: Mr. Kyriakos Giannoukas, Mr. Andria Nikolaou, Mr. Christos Themistocleous, Mr. Tonia Stavraki and Mr. Tasos Kalogiannis.
Next steps
Moreover, as reported by the University of Nicosia, the second cycle of research will begin in mid-September and is expected to study, among other things, both cellular immunity and the levels of immunity that specific population groups present.
