READ THIS NEXT: Dr. Fauci Just Gave This New Warning to All Americans—Even the Boosted. Even as other mitigation measures have been stripped back, officials across the U.S. are still pushing one major form of defense against Omicron and its subvariants: COVID vaccines. “COVID-19 vaccines remain the best public health measure to protect people from COVID-19 and reduce the likelihood of new variants emerging,” the CDC says. “This includes primary series, booster shots, and additional doses for those who need them.” Anyone over the age of 12 is eligible for at least three COVID shots (with two initial mRNA shots and a booster), while the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just authorized a second booster for adults 50 years and older who had their initial booster shot at least four months prior. Since immunity gained from the vaccines wanes over time, at least one booster is required for you to be considered up-to-date on your COVID vaccines, according to the CDC. “The booster shot is effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19, including the Omicron variant,” Daniel Varga, MD, Hackensack Meridian Health’s chief physician executive, confirmed during the height of the original Omicron’s surge in late Jan. 2022. “While we have seen more breakthrough infections with Omicron, we’re seeing that the booster dose definitely influences the severity of the infection.” While vaccines and boosters are important tools against COVID, some people may be even more protected through other means. Two new studies show that a breakthrough infection might be more effective at keeping vaccinated people safe than a second booster shot, Fortune reported. The first study, which was preprinted April 1 on the bioRxiv server, comes from the German partner behind the Pfizer vaccine, BioNTech SE. According to the study, vaccinated individuals who had breakthrough Omicron cases showed a better B-cell response than those who were boosted but had not been infected. B cells are a type of white blood cell that help your immune system create antibodies in order to fight off infection, Verywell Health explains. For the other study, researchers from the University of Washington compared blood samples of those who had been vaccinated and then had a Delta or Omicron infection with the following groups: those who had been infected first and then vaccinated, those who had been vaccinated but never infected, and those who had been infected but never vaccinated. According to the study, which was preprinted May 10 on bioRxiv, vaccinated people with breakthrough Omicron cases produced the most protective antibodies against other variants of the virus. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. These two studies indicate that the millions of vaccinated people who were infected with the Omicron will likely not become severely sick from another variant any time soon, Bloomberg reported. “We should think about breakthrough infections as essentially equivalent to another dose of vaccine,” John Wherry, PhD, a professor and director of the Institute for Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania who wasn’t involved in either study but reviewed the BioNTech study, told the news outlet.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb According to Wherry, this means if you’ve had COVID recently, you could wait before getting another booster shot—even if you’re already eligible to get it. Other researchers say that these studies show that the U.S. potentially needs to change its vaccination efforts. “Maybe this is an indication that an updated booster might be a good idea,” Theodora Hatziioannou, PhD, a virologist at The Rockefeller University, told Bloomberg. The CDC updated its vaccine guidance on May 13, changing its recommendations to now advise some people to consider waiting for a second booster. In a new section titled “If you are eligible, can you wait?,” the agency says that eligible people who have had COVID within the past three months can wait to get a fourth dose. You should also consider waiting for this additional booster if you feel that getting it now would make you less likely to want to get another booster in the future, according to the CDC. “A second booster may be more important in fall of 2022, or if a new vaccine for a future COVID-19 variant becomes available,” the CDC now says. While the agency did not elaborate on why the extra dose might be more important later this year, many experts including White House COVID adviser Anthony Fauci, MD, have warned that the U.S. could see another major COVID surge in the fall. READ THIS NEXT: Boosters Won’t Protect You Against Omicron If You’ve Done This, Study Finds.
