"Booster Shot Recipients Likely Not to Need Additional Vaccinations for Several Years"

"With 3 Vaccine Doses, Diverse Antibodies Are Produced to Make It Difficult for Any Variant to Penetrate"
"Fourth Dose Unnecessary Except for High-Risk Groups Like the Elderly"

On October 25th last year, medical staff at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, received a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Park] As discussions about a second additional COVID-19 vaccine booster shot arise in some countries, reports have emerged suggesting that even just receiving the first booster shot can provide long-lasting preventive effects.

On the 21st (local time), The New York Times (NYT) cited several recent studies published in prominent medical journals, reporting that individuals who have completed a total of three doses, including the booster shot, may not require additional vaccinations for several years. According to the cited research, those who have received two initial vaccine doses plus the first booster shot?a total of three vaccinations?can achieve sufficient long-term protection against severe COVID-19 and death.

John Werry, director of the Immunology Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, stated, "We have begun to observe diminishing benefits from additional doses," adding, "While a fourth dose may be necessary for those aged 65 and older or high-risk groups, it may be unnecessary for most people."

The latest studies referenced in the report explain that receiving three doses of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines such as Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna generates a much broader range of antibodies, making it difficult for any variant virus to penetrate. The formation of various types of antibodies in the body enables protection not only against existing variants but also against new ones.

In particular, according to at least four papers published in top-tier journals over the past month, the NYT reported that not only antibodies but also other components of the immune system can remember and destroy the virus for months to years.

T cells generated after vaccination with four types of vaccines?Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), and Novavax?showed 80% efficacy against the Omicron variant compared to previous variants. Researchers expect that T cells will maintain similar effectiveness against new variants that may emerge in the future.

Wendy Burgers, an immunologist at the University of Cape Town who published related research in the international journal Nature, stated, "T cell responses are likely to persist for an extremely long time."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.