Variant-specific vaccines would undoubtedly increase immunity. But waves of new variants would engulf the population faster than these vaccines could ever be deployed.
Careful lab work will complement public health data as researchers worldwide focus on omicron, asking questions about contagiousness, severity of disease and whether vaccines hold up against it.
Booster shots are a common necessity for vaccines to keep working. Recent research shows COVID-19 booster shots are recommended for high-risk individuals — and may benefit the rest of us too.
Vaccination prepares the body’s immune system in the same way “natural” exposure to infection does. It just does it in a safer, controlled way with a much lower dose.
Your body produces antibodies after an infection or vaccine, but these slowly decline over time. New Johnson & Johnson data sheds light on the duration of protection and the need for booster shots.
‘Breakthrough’ infections can happen because of waning immunity or high viral doses. But our vaccines are still excellent at preventing severe disease and death.
Some countries have started administering third doses of COVID vaccines, or booster shots. But we’re still learning about how long immunity lasts from the first two shots.
It has been six months since the Johnson & Johnson vaccine received emergency use authorization. What does six months of data show about its efficacy, side effects and protection from variants?
COVID-19 vaccination produces a more consistent immune response than a past infection. With the delta variant, the difference in protection may be even greater.
At the height of polio and H1N1, Canadians were keen to get vaccinated, but vaccine enthusiasm waned once the crisis had passed — what does that mean for COVID-19?
Vaccination rates for COVID-19 have been lower than desired for herd immunity, or when enough people become immune for new infections to stop. What will life look like without it?