How will the second COVID-19 booster shot fight the new BA.2 variant?
It's another COVID-19 vaccine for Americans. The CDC is recommending a second booster shot for the immunocompromised first.
If you are over 12 years old and immunocompromised, you should consider a fourth booster for the Pfizer shot. The minimum age for a Moderna second booster is 18, and you have to be immunocompromised, but why do we need boosters?
When you first get a vaccine, your body's B cells create these antibodies. They can stick to viruses like COVID-19 and signal to T cells to kill the virus, but those antibodies begin to disappear as time goes on.
Dr. Vesta Sandoval said once four months have passed since your first booster, you should look into this new second booster shot. The purpose of a booster is to stimulate your immune system so that you're able to increase the level of antibodies and protect yourself against that virus.
"The longer that interval goes on, the lower possibly those antibody levels could be, and the less protection you may have," Dr. Sandoval said.
Dr. Sandoval said new variants like omicron and BA.2 can avoid some of our antibodies and cause breakthrough cases, but staying up to date on our boosters creates more antibodies and makes it harder for the virus to survive.
"There is a little bit more breakthrough infection that occurs, but it's still protective against those severe cases of hospitalization," Dr. Sandoval said.
