So will you need a COVID-19 booster forever?

With the spread of Omicron variants COVID-19 booster Open to Americans 16 years and over, Some people wonder what the future holds for boosters. As Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, do I need a fourth dose? Recently proposed?? Do I need to be prepared to get a booster for the next few years until COVID-19 is in full control? Or do you need an annual shot like a flu vaccine for the rest of our lives?

Currently, experts do not know how many COVID-19 boosters will ultimately be needed and how often they will need to be obtained. But there are some important factors they are paying attention to in understanding it.

Boosters are designed to do just that — they increase your body’s initial response to vaccines and provide more protection against specific pathogens. And it’s not uncommon for vaccines aimed at preventing viral diseases to require booster immunity, said Dr. Bernard Camins, medical director of infection prevention at Mount Sinai Health System, today. Two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.. “In this situation, we found that even with the COVID-19 vaccine, booster immunization was needed,” he said.

Researchers are considering two key factors that ultimately determine whether more boosters are needed. First, has the protection provided by the vaccine diminished over time? And second, is the current COVID-19 vaccine still relatively well matched to the version of the virus that is currently prevalent?

If protection disappears over time, as in the case of the first two-shot dose, another round of boosters may eventually be needed to enhance the immune response.

“6 months later, Moderna and Pfizer Immunity weakens.. And the idea behind the booster is exactly that. Boost your immunity and bring these antibodies and other reactions back to more protective levels, “said Dr. Gabor Keren, professor and chairman of Johns’ School of Emergency Medicine. Hopkins University said today.

We saw more because its immunity weakened and the Delta variant took over. Breakthrough infections Among the vaccinated people. (However, hospitalization Deaths from COVID-19 remained very low among vaccinated people. )

“The current big question with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines is whether this third dose will last long or require regular booster shots,” said Dr. Thaddeus Stappenbeck, chair of the inflammation department. Says. Immunity and immunity at the Cleveland Clinic Learner Institute spoke today. “I don’t think there is an answer yet.”

If a coronavirus variant emerges that appears to significantly circumvent protection from current vaccines, a new booster may be needed to explain it. Also, future COVID-19 boosters may target specific coronavirus variants.

“There were some mismatches between the vaccine and the delta variant, but it wasn’t as dramatic as disabling the vaccine,” Camins explained. “With Omicron, there are actually more discrepancies.”

Preliminary data Released last week Three doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Omicron variant This is equivalent to two doses of Pfizer vaccine against the previous variant. However, the result of lab research ( Press releaseWe also show that patients who received only the primary, double-dose series had significantly reduced protective antibodies compared to those who also received booster immunization.

These findings need to be replicated with real-world data before experts can conclude about the efficacy of Pfizer’s vaccine against Omicron or whether a brand new COVID-19 vaccine is needed.

both Pfizer When modern It has already been announced that we are working on an Omicron-specific version of the vaccine and expect it to be ready in March 2022 if needed. “If more targeted, the booster will probably have less breakthrough infections,” Camins said.

For now, “all vaccines are the original varieties,” Keren said. Unless Omicron is less dangerous or deadly than its predecessor, a new vaccine may not always be needed.

“If you put all the eggs in Omicron, you’ll have (another variant) by the time the (vaccine) comes out six months later,” Keren said. “A newly manufactured, highly directional vaccine is not always necessary, as long as it works reasonably well against all variants in which the vaccine appears.”

However, it may be time for new variants to “really avoid or avoid” the immune protection provided by the vaccine, Keren said. And at that point, you will need a new version of the vaccine.

For now, experts say it’s too early to determine if you need more boosters or how long you expect to receive them.

Many experts COVID-19 booster Keren said it would eventually be like an annual flu vaccine, adding that one day it could be vaccinated with a combination of influenza and the COVID-19 vaccine each year. (In fact, Moderna is already working on it, Reuters reported.. )

“Populations in the United States and many countries are willing to reach the level of herd immunity,” he explained. So we have the potential to deal with the coronavirus in some way for the rest of our lives using a variety of “swirling” variants. But it’s not yet known if that means we need to get a booster every year for the rest of our lives.

To determine if another dose of Omicron is needed, “all we have to do is monitor. Breakthrough infections“Stapenbeck said. “If more and more things are seen than researchers expect, it will be decided to consider a fourth dose, and I think it’s perfectly reasonable,” he said.

“I think it’s somewhere in between,” Cummins said. “It may be needed again six months from now, but I don’t know if it will last as long as the flu vaccine.” Ultimately, the more people remain unvaccinated, the more More cases are more likely to occur, and in some cases More variants will appear He explained that he needed an additional booster.

And if you haven’t yet taken the first series or third dose, experts say the possibility of more boosters shouldn’t discourage you from getting this now. .. According to Keren, boosters not only greatly enhance protection from COVID-19 infections, but also reduce the chance of transmitting the virus to others. “It’s for both your own protection and you protecting others.”