The booster shot, also referred to as a “bivalent” booster, was redesigned in hopes it would more specifically target Omicron subvariants, now the dominant form of COVID in the U.S.
shot; it’s unclear how many are likely to opt into a second, particularly given widespread vaccine hesitancy, fewer COVID restrictions , and depleted federal funding.
Although Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has compared the COVID-booster redesign process to— which doesn’t require human testing in order to be updated — Offit disagrees. “We’ve been giving flu vaccines since the 1940s, so we have a lot more experience with flu vaccines,” he explains. Flu vaccines are also made with older, more familiar technology, while scientists are “still learning” how COVID immunity develops, he says.
The best-case scenario for the new booster shot, says Offit, is that people at higher risk boost their “neutralizing antibodies for three to six months.” But the size of that boost is unclear, and according to Offit, it’s unlikely to make a significant difference in people who are otherwise at low risk for serious disease.
These groups, says Offit, “can’t handle a mild illness well; therefore, when you get a booster dose, and you increase your neutralizing antibodies for three to six months, that may keep you out of the hospital.”
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