How do the vaccines behave with a high viral load for exposure?

[BouncyDaisy]

I was reading another thread about covid after vaccination.

I was wondering would a vaccine provide protection from a high viral load exposure?

I'm fully vaccinated since the spring time. I live at home with my mother. All throughout the pandemic I witnessed appauling cough and sneeze etiquette from her. In the beginning of the pandemic she was shielding and then she got bored with shielding and decided to forget about social distancing measures. She coughs regularly from dust/smoke related. I don't know. Any time she coughs or sneezes, she makes no attempt to use a tissue or cough or sneeze into the crook of the arm. So all of the coughs and sneezes are done into the open around the home. I would not consider her to be old with a failing mind but she was never able to comprehend the public health advice on hygiene. She really doesn't give a crap about any one else around her.

I'm just wondering now, if she was to catch covid, it will be anyone's guess as to how it would go but a high viral load being coughed and sneezed around the home would be likely.

Would a vaccine fail or behave poorly from a high viral load at exposure from someone.

Although about 2 years ago or winter of 2019 my mom got a heavy cold and I somehow magically never got it and I never felt ill and she was coughing in the kitchen. I eat well and take a lot of supplements and I suspect maybe the two combinations of clean eating and supplements helped my body ward off a cold from her.

I think it would be good to know for NHS staff treating Covid patients and on the receiving end of high viral loads.
If the NHS know the data on this, they are not sharing it. No plans to give boosters to frontline NHS staff on Covid wards have been announced yet. Some had their second dose in early Jan.
Anyway, in summary - we don't know, and if someone does know, they aren't publicising it.

I was wondering would a vaccine provide protection from a high viral load exposure?

It seems unlikely based on the data we have, but I’m not sure there have been studies yet.

However is she vaccinated? We do have early data on the impact of vaccines on secondary cases within a household (so high risk) - even one vaccine dose in the infected person (so low likelihood of infection in the first place) had a significant impact in reducing onward transmission, probably as the vaccine appears to reduce viral load in the minority who still catch Covid.

I don't think being coughed on by a single elderly lady constitutes a high viral load? I think high viral load occurs when someone is exposed to constant bombardment from the symptomatic? So an HCP working 12/14 hr shifts, day in day out in a ward etc?

My understanding of viral load is when a person is exposed to the virus and becomes infected. The virus multiplies in the body and then symptoms of illness occur. My understanding is that the body has a high viral load at time of sickness.

HIV is an infection that can cause a high viral load. Maybe someone else can explain it better.

If someone is sick or ill and has a high viral load in their body, and if they expell infectious fluids like salvia from coughing, other people can become infected and ill.

I think maybe its why a lot of people who got sick early in the pandemic are still having long term effects. A high viral load was more likely from others because of not being aware of a pandemic brewing and less hygiene being carried out.

Then health authorities jumped all over it and told populations of a range of measures and hygiene and containing germs was included in them measures.

Op I think this is an absolute vital question.

We know people exposed to high viral load suffer a great deal and even die, from this point exposedness.

I wonder what will happen to shop staff, teachers, NHS staff, people who work closely with the public, bus drivers etc... When masks are off and they are getting lots of virus at a them

OP, you didn’t mention if she’s vaccinated?

Studies have found less virus in nasal cavities after vaccination, which is associated with viral load. And then there is the reduction in household transmission by those who are vaccinated but unlucky enough to get Covid anyway.

She's waiting for the second dose of AZ vaccine.

Oh, OK, that's me told. 🤣
Roughly whereabouts are you OP? Are you booked in for yours yet?

So a few misconceptions in there OP.

When you say vaccine - what you mean is "My immunity, derived from having been vaccinated". The vaccine is only in your body for a very brief period of time. After that it's just B and T cells in your body that deal with recognisable antigens (viruses) based on what they were "taught" by the vaccine.

Viral load means the amount of virus you have in you at any one time. What you mean is a high initial load, or high exposure.

So let's look at how an infection begins and develops.

Some virus particles get into your nose or throat (from exposure). They are first met by your innate immune system - this has nothing to do with vaccines - it's just your body's first line of defence against ANY infection. If the exposure is great enough, then some virus gets past your innate system and at this point it meets your adaptive immune system - this is the one that has been trained by the vaccine. There's still studies on what happens initially here, but it's believed antibodies in the initially infected tissue are the next line of defence, preventing systemic infection.

If there is enough exposure to get past this line of defence, then you will develop a systemic infection, but your body's B and T cells will leap into action - at this point the initial exposure level is irrelevant because once the virus starts multiplying, the level in your body will become massively more than the initial exposure for a short period of time - how long depends on how effective your immune system is and how it has responded to the vaccine. According to the data, with most people, the virus is mopped up by the immune system before symptoms appear.

So you may be a little more likely to develop a systemic infection - difficult to say, but like every other vaccinated person, far less likely to develop a serious condition as a result.

Wow

Justwanttodanceagain

Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate the details and information and knowledge contained in your reply. Thank you.

@justwanttodanceagain And thank you from me too, that’s such a wonderful explanation of how infection takes place and is met with the body’s defences.