Leading infectious diseases expert Professor Sharon Lewin answers your booster shot questions. covid19 vaccines boosters
Question from Terry: What is the evidence that mixing vaccines is safe and effective?
More recently, a study looked at nine different vaccines for the third dose after receiving either AZ/AZ or Pfizer/Pfizer for the first and second doses. In this study from the UK, mRNA as the third dose, either after two doses of AZ or two doses of Pfizer, gave the highest antibody levels. However, some combinations give you more reactogenicity, meaning mild side effects such as fever and aches and pains.
Question from Katharine: I’m reading that Moderna is best for a booster. Is this correct? I’ve had AstraZeneca. It may well be, however, that the booster dose is really the third dose of a three-dose regimen. There are many vaccines that need three doses to give you high and durable immunity. For example, hepatitis B requires three doses. You have the initial shotfollowed by a second at one month and a third dose at six months and that gives you immunity for life.
Getting COVID after two doses will bump up your immunity. We don’t know whether it will give you as good immunity as a third dose, so the recommendation is to wait three or four months before getting a booster. You’ll be protected from the recent bumping up of your antibodies and in three months’ time, this would be the right time for a third shot before the winter months.
Your antibodies do start falling after about two months, but you’ve still got protection from infection. Your risk of hospitalisation and death doesn’t drop off after either AstraZeneca or Pfizer for at least six months.
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