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COVID vaccine booster shots coming – here’s what you need to know
Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced that every adult in the United States will be eligible to be vaccinated by April 19, a full two weeks before his original deadline. More than 63 million Americans have been fully vaccinated and more than 108 million have received at least one dose, a total of more than a third of the U.S. population. As herd immunity is now an achievable goal, experts are already looking ahead: vaccines have begun to focus their attention on COVID vaccine booster shots. Booster shots are additional doses of vaccines, which are ‘given to inflate the declining immunity or to fight a new variant,’ explains Jill Grimes, MD, a Texas family doctor. Not every vaccination requires a booster, she says: Tetanus vaccines need a booster every ten years to build up immunity to the disease, while people usually need only one series of measles in childhood. “However, the flu vaccine needs to be strengthened every year, not because our immunity to the previous year is fading, but because the virus is mutating and changing enough so that the protection of last year no longer works,” says Dr. Grimes. “COVID virus works more like the flu virus as we see new variants emerge.” It is unclear from now on when exactly we should start getting boosters; experts are still determining how long the current vaccines will provide adequate immunity to COVID-19. The results of a study released this week showed that the Moderna vaccine still provides protection six months after the second dose. “Most scientists expect immunity to last at least one year,” says Dr. Grimes. She notes that the current vaccines at the moment are also effective enough against the emerging new variants. “But if we start seeing people with full vaccination who get serious diseases from newer variants, then a stimulus shot will be developed that targets the variant,” she says. “Honestly, this is the beauty of the mRNA vaccines, because it can be easily customized!” But if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s important to act early. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have all indicated that they are looking for increased doses of their vaccines. Dr. Grimes says that people will probably first be encouraged to get a booster from whatever vaccine they received (if you were given the Moderna survey, you would get a Moderna booster). But, she adds, “At some point in the future, I would not be surprised if it was good to mix and match.” More than a year ago, Refinery29 spoke to Jennifer Haller, the women who received one of the very first doses. of a COVID-19 vaccine in the USA, the then approved Moderna vaccine. Haller agreed a month ago to re-enroll at the trial to get a shot. She contacted Refinery29 again by phone to let us know about her experience. Refinery29: So, you shot the booster! How was it? Jennifer Haller: ‘I got a boost recording four weeks ago. They contacted me at the end of February to say that they were offering a boost shot for Phase 1 participants. And if we want to accept, it will enroll us in the study again for another twelve months. The goal is to look through very early indicators how this booster shot can work and what effectiveness it has. “It was an easy decision for me. First, I wanted to get the booster to improve my own safety. But more importantly, I wanted to be part of the study that will enable us to get an early indication of how we can apply boosters to others. Refinery29: Have you experienced any side effects from the booster? How did it compare to the actual vaccine? ‘The Phase 1 trial I was in is about testing safety in humans, so they start with a small dose. I had 25 micrograms doses of the vaccine. The usual dose was eventually 100 micrograms. But this increased dose was 100 micrograms. I did experience side effects, which were exciting for me – that means my body knew what to do or how to build a defense! It was not too bad. The next day my arm was very sore and I had a little nausea and a temperature with chills. But it resolved within a few hours. ‘What’s next? ‘The process is similar to what I did before: I detected my symptoms or side effects during the week after the amplifier. Then I came back one week later and two weeks later for blood tests; tomorrow is my four weeks after blood draw. And then I think there will be three months, six months and 12 months of investigations done. We talked more than a year ago, right after you received the first dose of Moderna vaccine that was approved at the time. At the time, everything was so uncertain and scary. How was life more recently? ‘Two weeks ago I was able to see my parents for the first time. They also had their first and second shots, and it was two weeks after my booster, so we were all fully vaccinated and felt comfortable. It was really wild to be able to walk into their house without putting on a mask and sitting down and eating dinner. It’s been over a year. ‘About a month ago, I was contacted by a large Facebook group of participants in the COVID-19 vaccine trials. They tracked me down and invited me to join the group, and I received a very nice, overwhelming reception from people who said I had inspired them to take part in the trial. This is a real recognition of the power of example. But also the exponential effect that my one act had on inspiring others to join the trial; and their actions probably inspired others as well. It’s a beautiful thing to experience the exponential growth from one small act. As you can see? How about another little R29 goodness, here? Pfizer vs Modern Memes is full of hope The biggest dating app is being vaccinated People are getting attracted to the vaccine