3 might be the magic number for COVID-19 vaccine doses, Yale immunologist explains
The Biden administration is reportedly preparing to announce that most vaccine-eligible Americans should get a COVID-19 booster shot after eight months. Allowing booster shots for all Americans, not just those with weak immune systems, would be a little controversial, since the 200 million doses of vaccine might be better used in countries with little supply and fewer vaccinated people. But there's also the question of what happens next? Will the COVID-19 vaccine become an annual thing, like the flu shot?
Actually, "three really could prove to be the magic dosing number — if the coronavirus remains relatively stable," Renuka Rayasam writes at Politico. "Even though Delta is more infectious than previous variants, it's still the same virus as the original COVID strain. A third vaccine dose this fall wouldn't be a different formulation than the first two — your body just needs more of it. The hepatitis B vaccine, for example, requires three doses for lasting immunity.
All vaccines lose a little efficacy over time, and if it weren't for the Delta variant, there would likely be no need for boosters at all, Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine, tells Politico. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are proving to hold up well against COVID-19, but the Delta variant carries 1,000 times the viral load as the original strain and therefore needs more vaccine to ward off serious illness, she said. If the virus mutates to the extent the vaccines aren't effective, like the flu virus continues to do, then we may need more than just three doses eventually.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
"I just learned to be very humble with this virus because it comes up with different tricks," Iwasaki said. "It is still trying to find its sweet spot."
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
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Earth's mini-moon was the moon all along
Under the radar More lunar rocks are likely floating in space
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: February 4, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: February 4, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pill
Speed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
HMPV is spreading in China but there's no need to worry
The Explainer Respiratory illness is common in winter
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Marty Makary: the medical contrarian who will lead the FDA
In the Spotlight What Johns Hopkins surgeon and commentator Marty Makary will bring to the FDA
By David Faris Published
-
California declares bird flu emergency
Speed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study finds
Speed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes risk
Speed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published