Why perpetual COVID-19 vaccine boosting 'isn't an ideal option'
![Coronavirus vaccine.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/456jWcGJcUVpSAsmS2Udwn-415-80.jpg)
The prospect of COVID-19 booster shots have been looming since even before any vaccines were granted approval late last year. Most scientists believe boosters will be necessary at some point, though it's not clear when, but they also may want to make sure those bonus shots aren't needed all that often in the long run, Katherine Wu reported for The Atlantic on Wednesday.
"Boosting in perpetuity isn't an ideal option, if we can avoid it," Wu wrote. That's partly because side effects may become more intense with each passing shot, but it also may simply exhaust the human immune system. If people are vaccinated too frequently, then cells will eventually "stop learning efficiently from the material vaccines provide, and essentially 'burn out' from information overload," Wu reported, citing John Wherry, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ultimately, Wu wrote, "the world is better served when we're judicious with vaccines ... and inoculate as needed, no more, no less." Read more at The Atlantic.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
10 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From cell reparation to monkey communication
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
TV to watch in September, from 'Agatha All Along' to 'The Penguin'
The Week Recommends A 'WandaVision' spinoff, a DC Comics villain's starring turn and a silly Netflix original
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Pope urges climate action, unity at Jakarta mosque
Speed Read The pope and the mosque's top cleric signed a joint declaration encouraging religious tolerance and climate change action
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FDA OKs new Covid vaccine, available soon
Speed read The CDC recommends the new booster to combat the widely-circulating KP.2 strain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Mpox: how dangerous is new health emergency?
Today's Big Question Spread of potentially deadly sub-variant more like early days of HIV than Covid, say scientists
By The Week UK Published
-
What is POTS and why is it more common now?
The explainer The condition affecting young women
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Brexit, Matt Hancock and black swans: five takeaways from Covid inquiry report
The Explainer UK was 'unprepared' for pandemic and government 'failed' citizens with flawed response, says damning report
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Should masks be here to stay?
Talking Points New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a mask ban. Here's why she wants one — and why it may not make sense.
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Covid might be to blame for an uptick in rare cancers
The explainer The virus may be making us more susceptible to certain cancers
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Long Covid and chronic pain: is it all in the mind?
The Explainer 'Retraining the brain' could offer a solution for some long Covid sufferers
By The Week UK Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published