Experts say getting a booster shot is key in fighting the dominant strain of COVID-19 — the Omicron variant, NPR reports.
Though, many might be wondering: how long does a third shot provide protection? Researchers in the U.K. believe they have the answer.
For the Pizifer vaccine, protection against infection is expected to wear off in six months, but protection against serious illness seems even stronger, according to researchers in the U.K. Health Security Agency. They recently dropped the report.
While protection against infection is pretty strong, it starts to fall after three months. The booster reducing the risk of infection goes down from 70% to 50% after three months. The researchers believe the booster reducing the risk of infection will drop to 40% in four months.
Jennifer Gommerman is an immunologist at the University of Toronto. According to NPR, Gommerman said, “The vaccine’s efficacy against infection relies on our level of antibodies because they are really our first line of defense against SARS-CoV-2.”
Gommerman said the timing of antibodies rising after a shot and dropping some period of time later…”Is perfectly normal and expected.”
“So in terms of protection against infection, we will see some protection early on with a booster, but that protection is going to wane,” she added.
Gommerman continued with, “Keep in mind, too, that omicron is very different than the original version of SARS-CoV-2, which is what we’ve been immunized against. And so our protection takes a bit of a hit in terms of how well those antibodies can recognize omicron.”
Read more at NPR.
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