What does your body do when you get a vaccine?
Your immune system responds to the foreign molecules that make up any vaccine via two different systems.
The initial response is due to what’s called the
innate immune response. This system is activated as soon as your cells notice you’ve been exposed to any foreign material, from a splinter to a virus. Its goal is to eliminate the invader. White blood cells called neutrophils and macrophages travel to the intruder and work to destroy it.
The second line of defense takes days to weeks to get up and running. This is the long-lasting
adaptive immune response.
It relies on your immune system’s T and B cells that learn to recognize particular invaders, such as a protein from the coronavirus. If the invader is encountered again, months or even years in the future, it’s these immune cells that will recognize the old enemy and start generating the antibodies that will take it down.
If I feel sick after my shot, does that signal strong immunity?
Scientists haven’t identified any relationship between the initial inflammatory reaction and the long-term response that leads to protection. There’s no scientific proof that someone with more obvious side effects from the vaccine is then better protected from COVID-19. And there’s no reason that having an exaggerated innate response would make your adaptive response any better.------
Post added on Aug 24, 2021 at 1:26 PM
