COVID-19 vaccinations offered by Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, in the United States, and even Astrazeneca in Europe, are offering a way to transition out of the current phase of the pandemic. The first phase was the “swarming” caused by a new disease. The second phase was the imposition of preventive methods, essentially public health 101. The third phase represented the arrival of vaccines using new technologies and required new strategic thinking about production, distribution and consumption along lines of age and health status. We are just beginning to emerge from that stage of vaccines. With nearly 59% of Americans fully vaccinated today, some say we are on the right track back to full normalcy. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci said, “If we get more people vaccinated globally and more people vaccinated now, hopefully within a reasonable period of time we will get to that point where it might occasionally be up and down in the background but it won’t dominate us the way it’s doing right now.”
Although the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines require 2 shots to be fully protected and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires 1, is there any more protection we can get so we are guaranteed not to get infected? This is where the idea of “covid booster shots” comes into play.
Dr. Mark Aronson, former professor of medicine at Harvard University and former Vice Chairman of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said that “The reason for the boosters is to tighten the level of antibodies in the blood”.
They also extend the protection of the COVID-19 vaccine and increase the body’s immune response.
Booster shots do not guarantee that you will not get infected, but with an increased immune response, you should have improved protection against COVID-19.
These vaccines are working to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death, even against the extremely fatal Delta variant. If you are fully vaccinated, you are still very well protected from getting seriously ill from COVID-19.
People tend to have a common misconception that the booster shot is a completely different vaccine than the first two shots. A booster shot is one additional dose (roughly ⅓ the dose) given to you after the immunity from the previous shots starts to wane.
Does this mean that the two-shot vaccines are working? Yes. Studies from Yale University have proven that all three vaccines are safe and effective and that the booster shot will only enhance protection against the virus.
Dr. Aronson said that “The J&J booster shot is the same, the Moderna is half the dose, and Pfizer is a smaller dose as well”.
What’s unique about the COVID-19 booster shots is the ability to “mix and match” which one you choose to get. A person who had gotten their 2 doses of Pfizer is now eligible for a Moderna booster shot, and a person who had gotten their 2 doses of Moderna is now eligible for a Pfizer booster shot. The booster shot can be chosen based on availability, your provider’s recommendation, or your personal preference. “Different brands of vaccines are still compatible to mix and match. Either way, your immune system is being activated to produce antibodies”, said Fieldston Upper School biology teacher Palma Repole.
The only difference is with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which “is a different mechanism of action” – according to Dr. Aronson – than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which both “use messenger RNA techniques to induce the antibody”. The method that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses is with an “adenovirus – a benign virus – and is a way they can get the coronavirus gene into the benign virus, and when injected into a person, it creates antibodies against COVID-19”. Repole said, “Johnson & Johnson is giving you a virus to initiate an immune response. Pfizer and Moderna are giving you the mRNA to produce the spike proteins to mimic the virus. It should not theoretically matter how the immune system is triggered, as long as it is learning to recognize viral particles”.
Studies have shown that getting a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot after an original one-dose J&J vaccine induces a much higher level of antibodies.
The United States Center for Disease Control has recommended that anyone 65 years and older, as well as anyone 50-64 with preexisting medical conditions, should be getting a booster shot. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, announced on October 21, 2021, that anyone who is 18+ living in long-term care facilities, has underlying medical conditions and works or lives in a high-risk setting is now eligible for booster shots as well.
The Israeli government was one of the first to introduce the booster shots. Investigators took 1.4 million Israelis, split them into two groups, and gave half of them the COVID-19 booster shot. Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia also began to rollout booster shots starting October 17. According to the studies conducted, “the booster decreased the rate of hospitalization, severe disease and death from Covid-19 by about 80% to over 90%, no matter the person’s sex, the number of other underlying medical conditions, or age if over 40 years”. From November 2, 2021, this recent work has demonstrated the urgent and critical need for booster shots worldwide.
Remdesivir, a nucleotide analog prodrug, is a treatment given to hospitalized COVID-19 patients is also an effective way to cut illness time in half. It is available intravenously, however, the advantages are fairly limited to people who are in an ICU or on a ventilator. Remdesivir primarily helps less sick people and go to the hospital relatively early before they get too ill.
Dr. Robert Grossberg, an infectious disease doctor who studied remdesivir said that the drug “Prevents the virus from replicating by confusing the virus’ natural cycle”. He also mentioned how remdesivir was not a drug that “Came out of the blue”. The first human studies of remdesivir were for the ebola virus in Africa. Once data was collected saying that it was safe for use in humans, “Scientists were able to see remdesivir’s effects on other coronaviruses”. Other treatments in addition to remdesivir are currently underway in development in the fight against COVID-19.
While the vaccines and remdesivir have proven their efficacy, there may a COVID-19 oral antiviral soon. Drugmakers have joined the race for an easy-to-use medication to treat the coronavirus. Pfizer announced that their newly created pill cuts rates of hospitalization and death by a significant amount: “Nearly 89% in high-risk adults’ ‘, according to Dr. Mark Aronson. After showing initial strong results, competitor Merck’s COVID-19 pill is already being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration. The Merck-Ridgeback drug, molnupiravir, cut the risk in half when given within five days.
“While remdesivir is effective for people in the hospital, this pill will be something you can take while you are home and is likely to be a lot more accepted by people who are still vaccine-hesitant”, Dr. Aronson said. These drugs could potentially have a major impact in preventing infection (prophylaxis) and early treatment.
If we want to return to a form of pre-covid normalcy and put an end to this traumatic pandemic once and for all, we must listen to the science, facts and truth that are these remedies.
