What is Immune Imprinting?

January 23, 2023

Immune imprinting is a phenomenon occurring in the human body. Scientists recently found that this phenomenon may make the COVID boosters less effective. Bivalent, Mono Valent, boosters, and variant-specific boosters are to go powerless due to the immune imprinting phenomenon. Immune imprinting is the human body replicating its immune system. During immune imprinting, rather than producing new and more powerful antibodies (cells that fight viruses), the immune system creates “cross-reactive” antibodies. These cross-reactive antibodies are not effective.

What is the issue around Immune Imprinting?

Scientists say that immune imprinting is to become a hinder to the performance of Booster doses of COVID. Today the world is taking measures to control the variants of COVID as we have become immune to the virus. Also, we are taking boosters to empower our immune system once in four to six months. Study says that these boosters will lose their importance because of the phenomenon called immune imprinting.

Why are the boosters ineffective?

When we take a vaccine for the first time, our body produces strong antibodies. Let us name them X. Now say a variant GGG has entered. Now our immune system should create a new and stronger antibody to kill the variant. But due to immune imprinting, this does not happen. The human body uses the memory cells of X to form new antibodies rather than creating new antibodies. These antibodies formed from X, that is, from the memory are called cross-reactive antibodies. What is the issue here? Take two people. Person 1 was infected with normal COVID and Person 2 was infected with the GGG variant. Person 1 has taken his vaccine doses but person 2 has not. To counter GGG we give vaccine doses to both persons. Booster doses are provided to person 1 and the normal doses to person 2. Because this is the first time for person 2. Net result: Immunity built-in Person 2 is high. Because person 1 uses memory cells to counter GGG. Whereas person 2 will build new antibodies against GGG.

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