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The Covid-19 vaccine rollout has been going pretty smoothly in the United States, with children aged between 12 and 15 also receiving their jabs. Vaccine makers have now shifted their focus towards vaccine booster doses that seem necessary in the future. Three vaccines have been greenlit in the United States, Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for ages 12 and older and Moderna for 18 and older; both these vaccines require two doses. The last is the single does Johnson & Johnson for ages 18 and above.
Health officials and researchers believe that the immunity that these Covid-19 vaccines provide might start to wear off after long periods, and it is possible that they might even lose their effectiveness after a year or more. Still, there is not enough evidence for that statement. The real problem is that the current vaccine might prove ineffective among new COVID variants that are emerging right before our eyes.
As a result, experts believe that vaccinated people might need a booster dose of the vaccine to prolong their immunity against the original virus and the newly emerging variants. This is similar to how a tetanus booster is recommended every ten years or how flu vaccines are recommended each year.
The way the tetanus booster vaccine works is that it reminds our immune system about the toxin so that it remembers how to respond to the toxin if it ever emerges in the body. The problem with the Covid-19 vaccines is that it is still unknown how long the immune protection lasts; however, it is almost certain that the vaccines don’t provide lifetime immunity.
Usually, the booster does use the same vaccine the person received initially; this reminds the immune system of the virus it is supposed to fight. However, with COVID, it is possible to use a different vaccine.
It is essential to keep in mind that no additional doses are recommended at this time, and the timing for the booster doses has also not been established. Some companies suggest that people might need the booster vaccine within a year; however, not everyone agrees.
Now, the question that comes to people’s minds is what will happen if you miss the booster dose. Not getting the booster vaccine will put the individual at risk of catching Covid. However, they might also have partial immunity, so there is a higher chance they might not get severely ill.
Covid-19 has stopped the lives of millions of people worldwide, and it is every individual’s responsibility to get vaccinated at this time. Whether or not we will need the booster vaccine in the future remains to be seen. But what we do know is that if we want to control the spread of the virus and prevent people from getting seriously ill or possibly dying, then all of us must get vaccinate
