How long will protection from the booster jab last?

[DevilWaresPrada]

Just that really.
Will we need a booster every six months?

Anyone?

We probably won’t know for several months.

They think it may be for nearly a year, perhaps longer. But we can’t be sure until large numbers of people have had their boosters a year ago, IYSWIM.

Some scientists are saying the third jab could be enough, others are saying annual boosters will be needed, but we won’t know until (or if) protection starts to wear off for those who had their boosters first. All eyes on Israel I guess.

I had my first in March and second in June and then 2 weeks ago was seriously ill with Covid - but not in hospital / I don’t think you can expect not to be ill but the hope is the vaccine keeps you out of hospital

I've had a 3rd primary (I have a weakened immune system) and after much faff I've been told that it's the plan to offer a booster ('the booster') to those like me after six months, if the evidence still supports this as a good idea.

So I'll have to wait and see what the JCVI advises.

Dunno if this is helpful or not.

We don’t know yet. Israel data will probably be the first to show booster waning.

I had my booster last Tuesday.
I then got my period 2 days later and its been horrific, flooding and lots of clots. Has anyone else had this? The first 2 jabs were also Pfizer and didn't affect my periods at all.

Pass me that crystal ball, and I'll see what I can do.

If you've not got one, then the twin answers are to watch international data, and to comply with testing regimes (and always report your results) so that the data from which these assessments are made is as complete and reliable as possible

No one knows yet but there are plenty of people observing the data from various countries to watch for warning signs and actively monitoring peoples levels of antibodies.

If I had to make a prediction I would expect any more boosters to be timed for next winter and a vaccine to be developed for whichever strain ends up being the predominant one globally/by country but that could still be a significant amount of time away. Don’t forget all of our current vaccines were developed from a strain in circulation almost two years ago.

Yes, it's likely that we will need repeated boosters.

I’ve got covid at the moment, had my second jab only 4 months ago. I’m not convinced a third booster will be the end of it

Covid isn’t going anywhere and will mutate, like the flu virus. I anticipate annual vaccinations that will be adapted (as the flu vaccine currently is) to prevalent strain that year.
It’s something we will have to learn to live with.

@MissHavershamReturns

I’ve got covid at the moment, had my second jab only 4 months ago. I’m not convinced a third booster will be the end of it

Tbh @MissHavershamReturns you’re right not to be convinced and I say that as a huge supporter of vaccinations.

Vaccinations will enable us to manage the situation without (hopefully) having to resort to drastic measures like lockdowns or forcing businesses to close on mass. They won’t eradicate covid but then no vaccination eradicates a disease completely without a huge amount of planning and reactive measures. Small pox was eradicated but it took a lot of resources and there’s been no appetite to replicate that for other diseases although we could.

It’s something we will have to learn to live with.

I've never had the flu jab so I won't be having repeated covid boosters either. I'll have this one but that'll probably be it. For me it's not worth the stress of knowing I need an injection every year.

I thought the 3rd was one effective at stopping infection and transmission.

When they tested the vaccines they didn't have the luxury of time. Many vaccines require three initial doses or routine boosters, look at the childhood immunisation program.

Maybe this will be one of them. I hope so because I think vaccine take up will wane if there are to be endless boosters.

I'd be interested to know what work is being done on producing a vaccine that can completely prevent infection.

@Hodl

I had my booster last Tuesday. I then got my period 2 days later and its been horrific, flooding and lots of clots. Has anyone else had this? The first 2 jabs were also Pfizer and didn't affect my periods at all.

Not helpful, but I had AZ first 2 then Pfizer booster, got period a week later on time and normal

Small pox was eradicated but it took a lot of resources and there’s been no appetite to replicate that for other diseases although we could.

This is a misunderstanding. Smallpox was eradicated, and there are about six other diseases that epidemiologists believe could possibly be eradicated.

Polio being one and lots of resources have gone into trying to eradicate polio. It has run into real hiccups however, which interestingly have resulted in significant research into how to work with populations that resist vaccination. (Hint: forcing people is not the way.)

The diseases that can be eradicated have certain things in common:
No symptomatic spread
Symptoms develop very quickly after exposure
Low rate of mutation
Vaccination completely stops the disease including spread of disease
No animal reservoirs.

It needs to have all these characteristics to be a good candidate for eradication.

Covid, by contrast, has asymptomatic spread, a period where it can be spread before symptoms develop, it mutates readily, the vaccine does not really prevent spread, and there are multiple animal reservoirs.

Sorry, should say no aymptomatic spread, above!

@Glinsk thanks for posting that childhood vaccination schedule; it’s an interesting reminder.

I do think part of the zeitgeist is a side effect of living in a society that largely had control of many infectious diseases. Many of us never think about it past childhood vaccinations and it’s new territory for most people.

As an aside, my dd was one of the first cohort to receive the meningitis vaccine as part of the National schedule and I distinctly remember people being upset that their dc had just missed out on it. I can’t recall anyone being particularly against it despite it being a fairly new vaccine that was only approved in 2013. It was only delayed due to costs.

The numbers of meningitis B cases pre-vaccination and severe covid cases in young children (happy to be corrected - quickly googled numbers give approximately 7k children admitted due to/with covid and an average of 74 cases per year with m. b pre-vaccine www.gov.uk/government/news/vaccine-cuts-cases-of-meningitis-and-septicaemia-in-uk-infants) do seem to offer some perspective imho - although I do seem to have gone on a massive tangent that would probably best suit another thread!

@DevilWaresPrada

Just that really. Will we need a booster every six months?

Yes.

No.

Dunno.

🤷🏻‍♀️

Israel is on their fourth booster after 6 months

Good to know. I expect it’ll be annually with the flu jab here, which may not be enough for vulnerable people.

@independent98

Israel is on their fourth booster after 6 months

Are they? I know a 4th booster was part of their future planning but that’s not the same thing as ‘being on’ their 4th booster.