The race to fashion vaccines to protect the world against COVID-19 continues. Recent reports of success in clinical trials suggests a finish line may be in sight.
Yet some caution is warranted. We may all get a vaccine eventually but it won’t provide equal protection to everyone.
“Public health researchers know that individual immune response to vaccinations can vary greatly — for a multitude of reasons. Improving vaccines’ efficacy may save lives. One area of interest is the gut microbiota, its influence on vaccine response and the potential for probiotics to act as immunologic modulators as well as adjuvants.”
The above was a beginning snippet from the deep dive into vaccines that I took for WholeFoods Magazine on behalf of the International Probiotic Association.
Read the article Can Probiotics Make Vaccines More Effective? to learn what research has been done and where we go from here.
My personal takeaway from the studies is to continue doing what I am doing: strive for an optimal immune response (with or without a vaccine) by eating a Mediterranean diet with a boost from a multi-strain probiotic supplement daily.
Your menus don’t have to be like mine. Perhaps you favor a vegan regimen or like an occasional steak on the grill. Whatever you choose, include lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and fermented foods. Your immune system will thank you.
