It's time to take a deep breath, tap the brakes, continue using your mask indoors, and not re-engage with large crowds just yet.
at preventing even mild infections. When first authorized, Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines proved 95% and 94% effective, and Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine proved 75% effective.
Like the initial vaccines, booster shots have been shown to be extremely effective at preventing serious illness. In fact,shows that people who received booster shots were at a 93% lower risk of being hospitalized and an 81% lower risk of death from COVID-19 compared to people who had only received their initial two shots.
"The booster doesn't work right away; it takes a week or so to have full effect," says Dr. Megan Ranney, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Brown University."I frequently see people who take risks before the vaccines have had a chance to protect them." You can predict what type of side effects you might develop based on which ones you experienced with your previous shots. If your arm hurt for a couple of days last spring, it will likely hurt for a couple of days after you get a booster.A mask up! sign greets customers at the entrance of the Brattleboro Food Co-Op on Oct. 29, 2021, in Brattleboro, Mass.