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Global immunity to Covid-19 is likely to offer protection against other SARS-type viruses, ultimately lowering the risk of a future coronavirus pandemic, scientists have found.
Researchers led by a team at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) combined information from patient antibody samples with mathematical modelling to examine levels of immunity against SARS-type viruses in the general population.
They found that as well as high levels of immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, the population also had immunity against a range of “sarbecoviruses” – the wider family of viruses to which SARS-CoV-2 belongs.
They said Covid-19 immunity, whether from infections during the pandemic or vaccinations, could even provide a “biological barrier” against sarbecoviruses that have not been discovered yet.
They suggested this broader immunity may be key to slowing down, or stopping, a future pandemic by a previously unknown sarbecovirus.
Pablo Murcia, professor of integrative virology from the CVR, said: “Our global experience with Covid-19 has generated a biological barrier to other coronaviruses.
“While this does not mean we are immune to all future threats, infection and vaccine-derived immunity to SARS-CoV-2 has made it much harder for other sarbecoviruses to start the next pandemic.
“Our study shows the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the general population, alongside global vaccination campaigns, generated widespread immunity against related sarbecoviruses, creating an ‘immunity shield’ against the emergence of a novel sarbecovirus in humans.”
The team also found existing Covid-19 vaccines could help slow or stop the spread of any potential new sarbecovirus, dubbed “SARS-CoV-X”.
Brian Willett, professor of viral immunology at the CVR, said: “Our results suggest that our current vaccines might be effective against the emergence of a new coronavirus.
“Our mathematical models strongly suggest that the use of existing Covid-19 vaccines against any new and emerging sarbecoviruses reduced the chance of sustained transmission.
“We found that current vaccines would be most beneficial if implemented soon after the first SARS-CoV-X case was found.
“By contrast, delays in implementing any preventative vaccination would likely reduce its effectiveness.”
The study, Post-pandemic changes in population immunity have reduced the likelihood of emergence of zoonotic coronaviruses, is published in the journal Nature Communications.
The work was funded by the UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC), and the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
