Begin typing your search above and press return to search.
proflie-avatar
Login
exit_to_app
Trump
access_time 22 Nov 2024 2:47 PM GMT
election commmission
access_time 22 Nov 2024 4:02 AM GMT
Champions Trophy tournament
access_time 21 Nov 2024 5:00 AM GMT
The illness in health care
access_time 20 Nov 2024 5:00 AM GMT
The fire in Manipur should be put out
access_time 21 Nov 2024 9:19 AM GMT
America should also be isolated
access_time 18 Nov 2024 11:57 AM GMT
DEEP READ
Munambam Waqf issue decoded
access_time 16 Nov 2024 5:18 PM GMT
Ukraine
access_time 16 Aug 2023 5:46 AM GMT
Foreign espionage in the UK
access_time 22 Oct 2024 8:38 AM GMT
exit_to_app
Homechevron_rightLifestylechevron_rightHealthchevron_rightDelaying the second...

Delaying the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine boosts immunity: Studies

text_fields
bookmark_border
Delaying the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine boosts immunity: Studies
cancel
camera_alt

A medic administers the dose of COVID-19 vaccine on a beneficiary 

As countries extend the interval between the two doses of the covid vaccine due to vaccine shortage, studies have revealed that delaying the second dose boosts immunity by allowing the immune system more time to respond to the first dose, reports Bloomberg.

The first shot primes the immune system and allows it to start making antibodies which when allowed to mature betters the reaction to the second booster shot, the research suggests. It is seen across different vaccines that 20-300% more antibodies are produced with a later second dose. While some studies conclude that delaying the second shot for 9-15 weeks averted hospital, another study from Canada suggests that the best benefit comes from a six-month delay.

"If I could, I would push a button that says right now, this second, we give one dose to everybody we can reach," said Gregory Poland, virologist and director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. "We'll get around to second doses later."

"In the midst of a world on fire, you put out as many fires as you can, as quickly as you can," Poland added.

As no evidence was available on lengthening dose interval at the onset of the vaccine rollout, most countries limited vaccines to higher risk people and guaranteed a second dose for the segments. The UK was the first to drop this precedent.

Though extending intervals gives countries longer time to protect their population, people aren't considered wholly immunized until they receive both doses. The interval is also dangerous if resistant variants are spreading or if the first dose is weak.

Speaking of the logistic difficulties of extending the interval Gigi Gronvall, a senior scholar at the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said, "When you have any kind of a two-dose schedule, it's hard logistically. You worry about when people will come back for a second shot or if you will lose them entirely."

While studies suggest that the optimal interval between two AstraZeneca shots is 12 weeks, India suggests 3-4 months.

Show Full Article
TAGS:Covid vaccineSecond dose
Next Story