COVID-19 vaccines have saved an unknown number of lives but will it be necessary for us to boosters every few months? What about a new formula or a new shot entirely? This is the next debate on COVID-19 vaccines.
are saving an untold number of lives, but they can't stop the chaos when a hugely contagious new mutant bursts on the scene, leading people to wonder: Will we need boosters every few months? A new vaccine recipe? A new type of shot altogether?
. Already a sub-strain of omicron bearing its own unique mutations is circulating. Research is underway to create next-generation vaccines that might offer broader protection against future mutants -- but they won't be ready anytime soon. Thankfully, different immune system soldiers called T cells are key to prevent an infection from turning into severe illness -- and that protection is lasting longer because T cells are recognizing other parts of the virus that don't mutate as easily.After a booster, protection against symptomatic disease from omicron is about 70% -- not as good as the 94% protection seen with earlier variants that more closely matched the vaccine yet highly effective.
The debate is whether repeated boosting really is the best approach -- especially since scary new variants are less likely to form once more of the world's population gets initial vaccinations. It's a tantalizing idea, but NIH infectious diseases chief Dr. Anthony Fauci called it a years-long endeavor. "I don't want anyone to think that pan-coronavirus vaccines are literally around the corner," he said.
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