James B. Baker, Jr., M.D.

Research is shedding light on why ‘breakthrough’ Omicron infections occur in vaccinated individuals and suggests those who are both vaccinated and experienced previous infection have better protection against getting sick again.

The research shows that having both infection and vaccination with the “wild-type” virus, or the original COVID-19 variant, provides individuals with the strongest protection against all variants; those who were unvaccinated or who had not previously had the virus were more likely to have undetectable neutralization against all variants of COVID-19. Immunity provided by vaccines appears to wane over time. The research supports Omicron-specific vaccine boosters to better protect those who have not previously been infected.

“This study shows that immunity from infection, sometimes called ‘natural immunity,’ plays an important role in protection against subsequent COVID-19 infection,” James Baker, Director of the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center, said… Continue reading.

Eleven University of Michigan faculty members are among 532 newly elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The tradition began in 1874, with fellows elected by peer AAAS members chosen because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

New fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin Feb. 20 at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2010 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego.

This year’s fellows will be announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science Dec. 18.