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With the onset of the pandemic, there were many medical terms that we use in everyday life. One of such concepts is the booster. What exactly is it and will we be stuck with it all our lives?
- About three months after taking the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, a decrease in the titer of post-vaccination antibodies is noticeable. Thus, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is increasing
- Taking a booster makes the body’s immune response stronger, wider and includes more variants of SARS-CoV-2
- Will we have to take a booster for the rest of our lives? – It is not excluded – explains Bartosz Fiałek, a doctor who popularizes knowledge about COVID-19
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Booster: Dose administered at different times
– In medicine, in the context of preventive vaccinations, we use the term “sequential dose”. One of the two types of the next dose is a booster dose, known as a booster dose. booster. The latter term comes from the English language. The word “boost” means to amplify. The idea is that the next dose of vaccination, reminding the immune system of a specific range of immunity, strengthens, lengthens and extends the existing immune response – explains Bartosz Fiałek, a doctor who popularizes knowledge about COVID-19.
- See also: They don’t want to go for the third dose. The doctor responds with “unconvinced”
Depending on the country of the booster, it is administered at different time intervals, ranging from three to six months after taking the second dose.
– For example, in Ireland, patients are vaccinated after three, in the Scandinavian countries after four, and in Poland after five months. It depends largely on the administrative decisions of individual countries, and sometimes also on the availability of preparations – explains the drug. Fiałek.
- The editorial office recommends: What will happen if Poles do not get vaccinated? “We’re hurting ourselves”
The first country to give its citizens a third dose was Israel. In August last year, the president of the country, Icchak Herzog, emphasized that he was proud that the booster was first accepted by adults with reduced immunity, then Israelis aged 60 and over and medical staff, and then by people over 40 and 30.
Further part below the video.
Booster is a stronger immune response
The need to administer a booster is a consequence of scientific evidence.
– Medicine clearly shows that about three months after taking the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, there is a noticeable decrease in the titer of vaccine antibodies, mainly neutralizing ones. Thus, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is increasing. And to reduce this risk, we need to increase the SARS-CoV-2 antibody titer. By taking a booster, we strengthen the immune response, also by increasing the titre of antibodies, which increase protection against COVID-19 – emphasizes Fiałek.
The scientists’ observations show that the intake of the next, third dose covers more SARS-2 coronavirus lines.
Taking a booster dose makes our immune response stronger, wider, and includes more variants of SARS-CoV-2. This means it is longer in duration than in taking just two doses
See the COVID-19 immunity test package, which you will perform at Diagnostics network points.
Will we have to take a booster for the rest of our lives?
– It is possible, especially when we vaccinate against influenza, i.e. an infection also transmitted by droplets, every year. But there is a difference: flu vaccines are updated every season. Their composition depends on the strain of influenza viruses that circulated in the environment in the previous year, because their genetic material is highly variable, says the drug. Fiałek. He also adds that work is currently underway on a pancoronavirus vaccine.
– It is a vaccine that will protect us against many different coronaviruses: those that have been around for some time and were responsible for the epidemic in the Far East like SARS-CoV-1 and in the Middle East like MERS-CoV. In addition, this vaccine is to protect us against SARS-CoV-2, its variants and possible new coronaviruses, the structure of which will be similar, and will be able to create a new epidemic threat. If such a vaccine is developed, it is possible that we will deal with the new coronavirus faster The doctor concludes.
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