Breakthrough infections greatly enhance immune response to variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, according to new research. The study is the first to use live SARS-CoV-2 variants to measure cross-neutralization of blood serum from breakthrough cases, portending an eventual ‘end game’ to the pandemic.

The laboratory results, published online ahead of print today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), reveals that a breakthrough infection generates a robust immune response against the delta variant. Authors say the findings suggest the immune response is likely to be highly effective against other variants as the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to mutate.

The study is the first to use live SARS-CoV-2 variants to measure cross-neutralization of blood serum from breakthrough cases.

«You can’t get a better immune response than this,» said senior author Fikadu Tafesse, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine. «These vaccines are very effective against severe disease. Our study suggests that individuals who are vaccinated and then exposed to a breakthrough infection have super immunity.»

The study found that antibodies measured in blood samples of breakthrough cases were both more abundant and much more effective — as much as 1,000% more effective — than antibodies generated two weeks following the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

The study suggests each exposure following vaccination actually serves to strengthen immune response to subsequent exposures even to new variants of the virus.

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Materials provided by Oregon Health & Science University. Original written by Erik Robinson. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.