A new study has suggested that three doses of a COVID vaccine — or even just two — are enough to protect most people from severe illness and death for a long time. It appears that there are now diminishing returns for additional doses.
Research has found that specialised immune cells called T-cells produced after immunisation are about 80 per cent as powerful against Omicron as other variants. Moreover, given how different Omicron’s mutations are from previous variants, it is very likely that T cells would mount a similarly robust attack on any future variant as well. The studies suggest that the diverse repertoire of antibodies produced should protect people from new variants, even those that differ significantly from the original version of the virus.
Studies suggest that the immunity gained from infection or vaccination will hold up for a long while in most people. Even if mutations in new variants change some of the viral regions that T cells recognise, experts say there would still be enough others to maintain a reasonably strong immune response.
One big unknown is whether two doses of vaccine can create a long-lasting response, or if instead, people would need three to cement immune memory.
Research has found that specialised immune cells called T-cells produced after immunisation are about 80 per cent as powerful against Omicron as other variants. Moreover, given how different Omicron’s mutations are from previous variants, it is very likely that T cells would mount a similarly robust attack on any future variant as well. The studies suggest that the diverse repertoire of antibodies produced should protect people from new variants, even those that differ significantly from the original version of the virus.
Studies suggest that the immunity gained from infection or vaccination will hold up for a long while in most people. Even if mutations in new variants change some of the viral regions that T cells recognise, experts say there would still be enough others to maintain a reasonably strong immune response.
One big unknown is whether two doses of vaccine can create a long-lasting response, or if instead, people would need three to cement immune memory.