An annual vaccination against COVID-19, like the flu, could be a useful precaution in the future, says a British researcher in an article published in The Conversation. While the vulnerable categories will be vaccinated as a priority, what happens to the young? How effective is such a measure in the case of those with strong natural immunity?
A vaccine against COVID-19 can become annual, like the flu vaccine. How a nasal spray vaccine works
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| Can COVID-19 vaccine become annual like flu vaccine how nasal spray vaccine works? |
- Who should do a recall and when?
- And do young people need a reminder?
- What vaccines should we use?
- Updated vaccines against COVID-19
- Annual injection
So far, more than 70% of the UK population has received a third or booster vaccine for COVID-19. Many elderly or vulnerable people received a fourth or even a fifth dose. But how long and how often can we expect to continue receiving COVID-19 booster doses?
An annual vaccination, as with influenza, may be a useful precaution in the future, writes The Conversation, in an article signed by research professor Neil Mabbott, from the University of Edinburgh.
COVID-19 vaccines have played a crucial role in protecting people from serious illness, hospitalization, and death from infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
However, the immunity gained from the vaccine begins to wane after a few months. Fortunately, booster vaccines effectively supplement our immunity against SARS-CoV-2. As with the initial doses, the protection afforded by boosters against serious consequences is more durable than against infection. But that too is limited.
Four months after the third dose of mRNA vaccine, protection against Omicron begins to wane. One study showed that after a fourth dose, protection against infection peaked after four weeks and then began to gradually decline.
Who should do a recall and when?
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been observed that the elderly and people with certain health conditions, among others, are at increased risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death as a result of COVID-19.
Should we therefore be giving the most vulnerable boosters every four months to help reverse the waning of immunity? Or could a longer interval between doses be just as effective, wonders the British researcher.
US officials recently suggested that in the future most Americans will likely receive just one annual shot against COVID-19. Although immunity to infection may drop earlier in the year, this can be a practical trade-off to ensure that as many people as possible are protected from serious illness and hospitalization before winter.
And do young people need a reminder?
Since the incidence of serious illness and death among young people was much lower, the question is, do they also need annual boosters?
A Swiss study has concluded that it is not enough for only the most vulnerable groups to receive a booster against Covid-19 so that the disease does not have a major impact on the health system. In part, this is because a vaccine against COVID-19 not only protects the vaccinated, but also indirectly protects others by reducing further spread of the disease.
The authors of the study say that the most effective solution would be to vaccinate the majority of the population, giving priority, of course, to the most vulnerable categories, every year, three or four months before winter. This will significantly reduce infections and hospitalizations, according to the cited source.
What vaccines should we use?
Until recently, most approved vaccines for COVID-19 targeted a specific protein—the spike—on the surface of the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. But some variants have mutations in spike proteins that help them evade immunity acquired from previous infection or vaccination.
To address this, updated vaccines for COVID-19 that include the Spike Variant Omicron protein are now being given in several countries around the world, including vulnerable groups in the UK. These "bivalent" vaccines are designed to provide a broader level of protection against virus variants than the original vaccines.
Updated vaccines against COVID-19
But future versions may contain immune mutations to current vaccines. And predicting the variation that will follow is very difficult. With that in mind, scientists are looking at different vaccine formats to protect against a wider range of variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, thereby obviating the need for regular updates.
Because SARS-CoV-2 infects the respiratory tract, giving the vaccine through a nasal drop or spray or by mouth can help train the immune system of the mucous membranes lining the respiratory tract to recognize and destroy the virus at the point of entry, according to the cited source. -19 can become annual, like the flu vaccine. How does a nasal spray vaccine work? A nasal spray vaccine.
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| Can COVID-19 vaccine become annual like flu vaccine how nasal spray vaccine works? |
Several mucosal vaccines are in development, and two of them are approved for use in China and India.
Animal studies suggest that this approach has the potential to block infection, achieving so-called sterilization immunity.
Annual injection
COVID-19 vaccines remain the most effective and safest way to protect against severe illness and death from the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The question arose as to whether repeated vaccination against COVID-19 would over time weaken the immune system, but this is not true, writes the British researcher. We have as an example the flu vaccines that have been given for decades, every year, without any evidence that it adversely affects immunity.
For people in the highest risk groups, more frequent booster shots may be needed. But an annual vaccination against COVID-19 for most people seems like a reasonable solution.
So timed around winter, this measure will help protect the most vulnerable from serious illness and death and reduce the burden this disease places on our health systems, the researchers conclude.