India is trying to speed up its vaccination drive as the second wave of coronavirus is deteriorating the condition in the country. Between second wave and vaccination, several scientists are engaged in a debate regarding how long will the vaccine effectiveness last.
Many scientists claim that the vaccine will be effective for years and will avoid severe coronavirus infection. However, they suggested that a booster dose may be required after one year to prevent the infection.
According to a report published in Nature, a group of scientists is studying data and clinical trials of all seven anti-Covid vaccines and their aim is to study the far-reaching effects of immunity buildup from the vaccine.
These research result has suggested that neutralizing antibodies may start to decrease after one year of vaccination. To prevent the infection it would be necessary to increase antibodies again by taking a booster dose of vaccine.
However, without a booster dose, the vaccine will still be effective in preventing severe coronavirus infection. This means people who are vaccinated can also contract infection but, the infection would not be severe and will be curable under home quarantine. A person with less neutralizing antibodies can contract mild Covid.
Pfizer-Moderna MRN vaccine produces more antibodies as compared to AstraZeneca vaccines. But, all the vaccines are undoubtedly able to deal with severe infection. Also, the antibodies by all vaccines will decrease after a time span of a year thus, a booster shot is suggested.
James Tricus, a Microbiologist at the University of Sydney said, “It is not difficult for researchers to assess the vaccine’s impact based on clinical trial data. However, there is a need to collect more in-depth data on this.”