[dragontamer]

> Sure covid will probably continue to exist, just like H1N1 exists

Flu immunity only lasts 6 months.

COVID immunity seems to already be longer than Flu / H1N1 immunity.

Now if COVID immunity is only 1-year or 2-years, then yes, it will flare up over time. But if COVID immunity is like 5 years or 10 years, then we can pretty much forget-about-it after the vaccine.

No one knows how long the immunity is, aside from lasting longer than any test so far.

[iso1631]

We still haven't eradicated measles despite a vaccine giving lifelong immunity so I suspect covid won't be eradicated any time soon. It won't be a problem for the vast majority of people either though

[bun_at_work]

What do you mean flu immunity only lasts 6mo? As I understand it, flu vaccines are done yearly due to mutations rendering the vaccine impotent for the next strain. However, it seems like you're implying that the vaccine "wears off" or something.

What do you mean?

[dragontamer]

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/keyfacts.htm

> However, getting vaccinated early (for example, in July or August) is likely to be associated with reduced protection against flu infection later in the flu season, particularly among older adults

August / July is too early, people's flu immunity wears off before the end of the season. This is well known.

[bun_at_work]

Thanks for the share. From the link:

> Why do I need a flu vaccine every year? A flu vaccine is needed every season for two reasons. First, a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time, so an annual vaccine is needed for optimal protection. Second, because flu viruses are constantly changing, flu vaccines may be updated from one season to the next to protect against the viruses that research suggests may be most common during the upcoming flu season. For the best protection, everyone 6 months and older should get vaccinated annually.

[dragontamer]

Yeah, you're not wrong, but neither am I. Both effects happen. The flu has unusually short immunity in humans: most diseases have an immunity that lasts longer than that.

A big worry about COVID19 was the length of immunity. As a novel disease, no one knew how long human immunity would last. Fortunately, it seems to be for a long time (more than 8 months, which is the length of time these studies have been going). As such, we know COVID19 immunity is "longer than the flu", already.