What we know about COVID vaccine booster shots — and when we may need them
Now that almost half the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, many people are wondering how long that protection will last and if they will need a booster shot down the road. Yahoo News Medical Contributor Dr. Kavita Patel and Dr. Betty Diamond, director at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, explain what we know so far about COVID-19 vaccine boosters.
Video Transcript
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KAVITA PATEL: So the topic of COVID-19 vaccine boosters is an important one. There's a lot more we don't know than what we do know. But here's what we do know. What we do know is that over time, even with other vaccines, it's possible that our immunity decreases.
We also know that there are variants that are coming around the world, and including the United States, that could escape the immunity we have. Right now, all our current vaccines protect us against these variants, but some to a lesser degree than the variants we had a year ago.
BETTY DIAMOND: Vaccines are fickle or idiosyncratic. So you can't predict how long immunity is going to last when you develop the vaccine. So for certain vaccines like polio, it's really lifelong immunity. And for other vaccines like flu, you get a booster every year. And for a vaccine like tetanus, you're advised to get a booster every 10 years or so.
We don't have the information that we need about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. And they may be different from each other. They may all be the same or each may be somewhat different.
KAVITA PATEL: We are seeing data on who might need booster sooner rather than later. Certainly, elderly, especially those above the age of 85, immunocompromised people, particularly people who have had solid organ transplants-- which is actually many Americans and many people around the world. They demonstrate lower levels of immunity, even with the current vaccines. So there might need to be a prioritization for those populations with boosters.
All the manufacturers are working on boosters, and we expect that sometime in the next year, maybe, we might need these boosters. And we're looking at ways to even do this conveniently for Americans by offering it with the flu shot, for example. So you can get two vaccines at the same time.
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There are studies being conducted about mixing vaccines right now. Not boosters, but mixing the vaccines. And they look like they're safe to mix. So you can get even the first shot from Moderna and maybe get your second shot from another manufacturer, like AstraZeneca. Those trials are going on in other parts of the world today.
So we will have more information, hopefully, about whether a booster could be a different manufacturer. I suspect that manufacturers will encourage people to stick with the kind of vaccine they got first. But at the end of the day, immunity can be built from any of these vaccines. And the boosters should also give you that same level of immunity. So mixing vaccines and boosters seems inevitable, especially around the world.
BETTY DIAMOND: So we have a lot to learn, but the truth is, the vaccines are amazing. Many of them are amazing. The side effects of these vaccines are manageable. And it's clear that where people are vaccinated, case rates are going down and where people aren't vaccinated, case rates are going up.
You know, vaccines are one of the jewels in the crown of medicine. And we should take advantage of that, like we take advantage of antibiotics when we need them. So again, get vaccinated.
People cannot say enough times, get vaccinated. This is not politics, this is medicine. This is both your individual health and public health, the health of your family, of any friends you interact with. We need a vaccinated population.
