When should you get the COVID-19 booster shot?

Doctors say that in most cases, the best time to get a booster is as soon as you’re eligible. Protection from a booster shot will bolster your immune defenses as the holidays draw closer and Covid-19 cases are on the rise in some parts of the country. Even though your antibody levels may drop somewhat over time, your protection remains strong after a booster.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 15% of all US adults have received a COVID-19 booster. The agency has said that people who were initially vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Vaccine can get a booster only six months after their second dose. Any adult who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can get a booster at least two months after the single-dose shot. CDC also endorses mixing and matching of vaccines for boosters.

So how to decide what is the best time for your booster? Here’s what scientists and doctors recommend.

Holidays are coming. If I get a booster now, will I be better protected?

For people who initially received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations, the body goes through a similar process after a booster shot as it does after the second dose of the primary series. Shot Marshall recalls B cells to produce neutralizing antibodies, which help protect cells from the virus that causes COVID-19.

How long will the protection of the booster last?

The antibodies from the booster shot will wear off over time—but that doesn’t mean your immune defenses have disappeared. Scientists say antibody levels drop with all vaccines.

The body produces an initial burst of antibodies a week or two after the booster shot. Levels then drop and eventually stabilize, says John Wherry, MD, director of the Institute of Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania.

From early shots or boosters, COVID-19 vaccines haven’t been around long enough to study long-term immunity over many years. But if you look at other vaccines, antibody levels are often better after a booster, Dr. Veri says. “The slope of the decay is shallow,” he says.

“The question is: does[the level of antibodies] Settle at a higher and more stable level than with primary vaccination?” says Dr. Wherry. “That’s the hope.”

Will the antibodies formed after my booster shot last longer than after my original vaccination?

There is some preliminary evidence that antibody levels after a booster are higher than after a second dose of mRNA vaccine. The finding suggests that the booster may offer some degree of protection, says Stephanie Langel, MD, a medical instructor and a viral immunologist in the department of surgery at Duke University School of Medicine. But high antibody levels will still subside over time, so scientists are hoping that even a booster will produce better quality antibodies.

“Not only do we want to see an increase in numbers, we want to know, do you get potentially better binding of the virus after the booster?” Dr. Langel says. “We can’t say that for sure.”

What is the best booster timing if I am 65 and over? And what if I’m over 50 with an underlying health condition?

Doctors say people who fall into the high-risk categories should get a booster as soon as they’re eligible, six months after their second mRNA shots, according to CDC guidelines.

What if I initially found Johnson & Johnson?

According to the CDC, you should get a booster at least two months after your first shot.

If I am under 50 and I am healthy, should I get a booster as soon as I am six months old? Or should I wait until I get closer to a high-risk event?

It may make sense for healthy, non-elderly people to have a booster shot a few weeks before a big event, such as an international trip or wedding, says Deepta Bhattacharya, a professor of immunobiology at the University of Arizona College. Medicine in Tucson.

But the timing depends on the circumstances of your life and community. If the cases of COVID-19 in your community are low and stable, and there is no high risk of exposure in your daily life, it may be okay to wait a few months. “The two doses are still doing a great job of keeping you out of the hospital,” he says.

Other experts advise against waiting to get a booster, especially with winter approaching and Covid-19 cases rising in some parts of the country.

The antibodies produced by the booster shot won’t go away in a few months, even if their levels drop slightly, says Ali Elebedi, MD, associate professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

What’s more, the course of the virus is hard to predict. A more contagious form may emerge while you are waiting and pose a greater risk.

This story has been published without modification to the text from a wire agency feed