Dr. Luis Ostrosky with UTHealth said no federal agency has said we'll need booster shots.
HOUSTON — Nearly 50% of people 12 years old and older are fully vaccinated in Harris County. Because of that, COVID-19 cases are down and life is looking more normal.
But how long will that immunity last?
Dr. Luis Ostrosky, professor and chief of infectious diseases at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, said the thousands of volunteers who did the original vaccine clinical trials almost a year ago will inform doctors about whether booster shots are necessary.
“Every month, they go and get antibody levels. They see if anybody got sick, etc. We’re on-the-go monitoring whether antibody levels drop and if we’ll need booster shots,” Ostrosky said.
He said, so far, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are showing very strong protection six months after the shots. Nine-month data and 12-month data from the vaccine clinical trials should be coming in soon.
“So far, although everybody is prepared for booster shots, no federal agency has indicated we’ll need them,” Ostrosky said. “We’re hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.”
Baylor College of Medicine just began a clinical trial testing booster shots, if it turns out people do need them. For the first phase of the trial, researchers are giving the Moderna vaccine to people who are already fully vaccinated with Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Later, the study will use other authorized vaccines as the boost. The study will tell doctors if mixing and matching booster shots is safe, and which combination provides the strongest protection.
June 22, 2021 at 04:44AM
https://ift.tt/3d3reCb
There's no need for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots ... yet - KHOU.com
https://ift.tt/2DVP6sH
No comments:
Post a Comment