Many people seem to have a fairly simplistic view of how vaccines work: You are vaccinated, your body makes antibodies against the disease, and you can never become infected for the rest of your life. The term booster shots never come into the picture at all.
The reality is that vaccines are not as simple as that. They often require booster shots after the initial vaccination to ensure that the body remains protected. Where the problem comes in is that millions of people are not convinced about the need for booster shots, and in the process, they subject themselves (and others) to unnecessary risks.
What Is A Booster Shot?
Medical experts describe a booster shot as an additional dose of a vaccine after the patient had already received a primer dose at an earlier stage. After the original vaccination, a booster vaccine re-exposes your body to the antigen. The intention here is to strengthen the body’s immune response against that particular antigen back to the level provided by the original dose of the vaccine.
For example, in the case of tetanus, a booster shot has always been recommended every ten years. In the case of a Covid vaccine booster, the consensus currently seems to be that a booster shot might be needed every six months.
Now that you know what is a booster shot, let’s proceed to why it might be necessary.
What Is The Purpose Of A Booster Dose Of A Vaccine?
It’s only logical that people would like to not only know what is a booster shot but also why they should get booster shots. What is the purpose of a booster dose of a vaccine? The answer is that certain diseases have over time proven themselves to be more resilient than the rest of the crowd.
In these cases, the body can’t keep up the same levels of antibodies that were provided by the initial dose of the vaccine. If this happens, we are once again exposed to the risk of getting infected by whatever disease the vaccine is trying to control. This is why, at a certain time after the original vaccination, we might require a ‘wake-up call’ to restore protection levels to what they were after the initial shot of the vaccine.
Why Do Some Vaccines Require Booster Shots?
We have noticed that scientists sometimes shy away from using the phrase ‘We don’t know.’ Often, however, that is the only reasonable answer. We simply do not yet fully understand why certain vaccines, for example, those against Hepatitis A and B, are effective for the rest of your life while others like Tetanus and Covid-19 require booster shots.
The theory currently most popular is that if your immune system responds very quickly to a primary vaccine, your body will not have enough time to develop what is referred to as an ‘immunological memory’ against that disease. This means that over time it will literally start to forget how to respond to that disease. If that happens, a booster shot is needed to restore the memory B and T cell count to the original level.
Hopefully, this answers your questions regarding what is the purpose of a booster dose of a vaccine. But there’s more to the story than that, so please continue reading.
How Do Vaccine Booster Shots Work?
Generally speaking, a vaccine is either made up of a modified genetic ‘blueprint’ of the disease (virus or bacteria) that makes us sick, or it contains a weakened version of that disease. It activates your immune system to start attacking this unknown organism as if you actually have the disease. The body then ‘remembers’ this ‘enemy’ and creates antibodies that, if you are ever exposed to it again, will attack and kill it.
Despite what you’ve read so far, you might still wonder what the purpose of a booster dose of a vaccine is. Research has proven that booster shots can help our bodies better recognize the bacteria or virus we are fighting and start defending itself. Depending on the kind of vaccine, you might need a booster shot years, months, or weeks after the initial shot.
When Does Someone Need To Get A Booster Vaccine?
Understanding what is a booster shot is a good start. But do we need a booster vaccine after getting a full dose a while ago? Booster vaccines are nothing new. Certain types of diseases are renowned for the fact that they require an annual booster vaccine. A good example is the flu shot. Because it targets specific flu strains that are doing the rounds at a particular time, a new booster vaccine shot is necessary every year when the annual flu season arrives.
For various other types of diseases, however, whether or not you will need a booster vaccine depends on the circumstances. A booster vaccine may, for example, be required for people who want to travel to another part of the world where booster shots are required. Sometimes a disease that has been all but eradicated in a specific part of the world, such as Typhoid or Polio in Canada and the US, is still a significant threat in certain parts of the globe.
Who Can Get A Covid Vaccine Booster?
Getting a Moderna booster shot in the US will most likely soon be authorized for millions of people. At the time of writing, however, a Moderna booster shot is only available to individuals who suffer from an immune system that has been compromised.
A week or so ago, a panel of American health advisers recommended that certain groups should get a half-dose Moderna booster shot. Their recommendation must now be approved by the CDC and the FDA.
It is widely expected that Federal regulators will authorize both Johnson & Johnson and Moderna booster vaccine shots very soon.
In the UK, people can get a Covid vaccine booster on the NHS if they have had their second dose of the vaccine no less than six months earlier AND they fall in a high-risk category such as:
– They are at least 50 years or older
– Front-line social and health care staff
– Those who work and live in care homes
– Individuals who are at least 16 years old and who suffer from a health condition that could cause them to become very ill or die from Covid-19
– Those who are at least 16 years old and who are living in the same home as somebody who has a high likelihood of catching a disease. Examples include people who have HIV, are being treated for cancer, have had a transplant, or are getting treated for rheumatoid arthritis or lupus
– Those who are at least 16 years old and are caring for somebody who is at high risk of contracting Covid-19
– Pregnant women who fall in any of the eligible groups
The situation regarding who qualifies for a Covid vaccine booster in other countries will of course differ but it’s very likely that similar principles will apply.
The Bottom Line
With this article, we tried to help our readers better understand how vaccine boosters work and why they are often so important. Do you think we succeeded? Are there any important points we perhaps failed to cover? We would love to hear from you. You are welcome to visit our website, find our contact details, and let us know. You will also find our telephone numbers there, and you can even set up an appointment. We are in Hialeah, Florida.
