Subscribe now

Health

Will vaccines give us lasting immunity to the coronavirus?

By Graham Lawton

16 December 2020

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

A hospital in Wales has become one of the UK’s covid-19 vaccine hubs

Getty Images

LESS than a year after a new kind of coronavirus started spreading around the globe, we have several vaccines that seem to be very effective at producing strong enough immune responses to protect people from developing covid-19.

Despite this great news, however, critical questions remain about how our immune system responds to the virus. Speaking at an online conference, Devi Sridhar at the University of Edinburgh, UK, listed some of the gaping holes in our knowledge. “How long does immunity last? Can you…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

Popular articles

Trending New Scientist articles

Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop