How is immunological memory maintained?

Immunization is a procedure intended to boost the body's immune response and help our bodies fight off a specific infection brought on by a pathogen more successfully.

The most common type of immunization is vaccination; let's look at an example.

Our bodies create antibodies after vaccination that are unique to the particular pathogen that has been injected into our bodies.

These antibodies eliminate every pathogen that is causing the infection.

All that is left are these antibodies, which have a memory factor and can recall the pathogen they battled for years. These antibodies stay in circulation in the body, allowing our body to quickly identify and combat the pathogen the next time it infects us. These antibodies preserve this memory for years in case the same pathogen is encountered again.

Memory cells, in particular memory B cells and memory T cells, are produced during the primary immune response to an antigen and remain in the body after the initial encounter. When the same antigen is encountered again, memory cells quickly identify it and mount a more powerful and rapid immune response, which expedites the removal of the pathogen and offers long-term protection against reinfection.