How long is the booster effective for?

[Ladylunchalot]

Just wondering if anyone knows how long the booster dose is meant to protect you for? I did hear something about Israel introducing a 4th dose but can't see anything about that happening here.
I'm an NHS worker so have had all my vaccines early - had my booster in September. Now starting to get a little concerned that I'm now not as protected.

@WineGetsMeThroughIt

Booster looses effectiveness after 10 weeks. The CEO of Pfizer said weeks ago they were working on an omicron version of the booster since the current booster jab is for the original strain. Makes you wonder what the point of getting it is when the original variant and delta are almost non-existent now 🤔

nypost.com/2021/12/24/booster-protection-against-omicron-drops-within-10-weeks-study/

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/booster-effectiveness-wanes-after-just-22564510

So start to think about getting some time off for your 4th vaccines now 😑 www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/millions-could-early-fourth-jab-25779546.amp

Or consider that if omicron is basically now as mild as a cold, and more similar to a cold. Has the world ever been able to successfully vaccinate against a cold? No. Take some paracetamol. Rest. Recover, And get on with the rest of your life.

This is madness now. So much scaremongering going on its unbelievable

Maybe look at some scientific papers rather than tabloids? The benefits against severe disease are enormous - maybe compare hospitalisation & death rates for now compared to last year, its a very quick & easy way of seeing the effects of vaccination. If you want a reliable source of information (but very pro vaccine for those who want to avoid such a thing), I recommend following @sailorrooscout (A scientist involved in the development of the Moderna vaccine) on twitter, or if you feel this is too biased, try @jburnmurdoch - a Financial Times journalist who is very good at analysing & explaining the data.

Financial Times today
www.ft.com/content/15795cbc-b15e-427c-a7dd-9e116ebb08a5

@Bobholll... the data suggests that deaths and serious illness are much lower than previous waves.. but this COULD at least be in part due to the fact that this variant is less deadly.. death rates in South Africa where vaccination rates are below 30%. This is n important fact for public health decision makers to determine as the ongoing vaccination strategy needs to be affordable, sustainable and clinically justified.

@Cookerhood... I would love to read the details of that study.. the article is behind a paywall.. do you have a link to the study?

[quote ChateauMargaux]@Cookerhood... I would love to read the details of that study.. the article is behind a paywall.. do you have a link to the study?[/quote]
That's weird, I can read it. This is the first bit of it there is also a link to the paper within the article.
"Cellular immunity elicited by the BioNTech/Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines is effective against the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to a study, suggesting vaccines will protect against severe disease even if the antibody responses against the strain are not as strong or durable.
The findings, contained in a new Harvard medical school study, add to evidence that the current vaccines hold up against severe Covid outcomes, and could help health authorities to decide whether to switch to Omicron-targeted jabs.
“These data suggest that current vaccines may provide considerable protection against severe disease with the Sars-Cov-2 Omicron variant despite the substantial reduction of neutralising antibody responses,” the researchers wrote in the study made public on Monday. The paper has not been peer-reviewed yet.
Previous evidence suggests that the existing vaccines lose antibody power when pitted against Omicron, meaning individuals are likely to get infected and develop mild disease when they come into contact with the virus.
A third shot at least partially restores that antibody protection, and countries have been racing to scale up their booster programmes to avoid new restrictions. But vaccines are still expected to protect against severe disease, and health authorities have said they would closely examine evidence such as the one contained in the Monday study to decide whether a switch to Omicron-targeted vaccines is necessary."

Here is the link to the paper:
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.02.22268634v1.full.pdf

What we need is data comparing those who have had two vaccines more than 3 months ago with those who have been boosted to see if the booster does reduce serious illness and death. Given that we have not yet vaccinated the under twelves .. we also need this information for unvaccinated people against the current variant.

Thanks @Cookerhood.. I will read when back in front of my computer.

Here is the link to the paper:
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.02.22268634v1.full.pdf

That's interesting thanks. Seems to imply that boosters may not be necessary for those who are double vaccinated?

But I'd also like to see how the unvaccinated respond to omicron? How much milder is omicron intrinsically?

@ChateauMargaux

What we need is data comparing those who have had two vaccines more than 3 months ago with those who have been boosted to see if the booster does reduce serious illness and death. Given that we have not yet vaccinated the under twelves .. we also need this information for unvaccinated people against the current variant.

Yes exactly