It's the least you can do to protect yourself
and your community.
The last two years have been seemingly
never-ending about the Covid-19 pandemic. Just as it started to look like we
were making a turn for the better with widely available vaccines and the
opportunity to get a booster shot, the Omicron variant came out to play and
seemingly started spreading like wildfire. And now, just as you were getting
ready to return to the office or re-plan that long-postponed vacation, it's
starting to feel like March 2020 again, only this time we have vaccines but
vaccinated people are getting breakthrough infections anyway. What gives?
If you thought you might be one (or two) and
done with your first vaccine dose series of the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson
& Johnson vaccines, we don't blame you for feeling frustrated about needing
another one so soon.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
is surging everyone eligible to get a booster shot. This is because the
boosters are designed to assist the protection given in the original series you
received, reducing your chances of being infected with Covid at all and cutting
down on your chances of experiencing severe symptoms and requiring
hospitalization if you do come down with the virus.
While the latest headlines around breakthrough
infections may prove to be more than a little defeating, experts say there is
hope, especially if you take recommended measures to protect yourself and those
around you.
Here's what you need to know about getting
boosted when protecting yourself against Omicron.
How does the Covid-19 booster work?
"Vaccines work to create an immune response
within our body so that it is ready to fight the next exposure to a
disease," explains Suneet Singh, MD, an emergency room physician and
medical director of CareHive Health in Austin, Texas. "In essence, vaccines
help train the body to fight an infection, and to help develop a lasting immune
response, some vaccines require [additional] doses, [or boosters], down the
road from their initial administration."
Vaccine boosters help to ramp up the antibody
levels once again. While researching the different vaccines and immune
responses, experts have seen that the levels start to decrease somewhere at the
five- to six-month mark after receiving your original dose series Dr Singh
continues.
"This is why the boosters are recommended
at [those points in time]," he says. "By receiving a Covid vaccine
booster, patients successfully receive protective immunity against the Omicron
variant."
Does that mean the booster protects against
Omicron?
With how many people, including many vaccinated
individuals, are becoming infected lately, you may suspect that the vaccines
won't protect you from this new variant. That's not the case, says Dr Singh.
"The Covid vaccines from all manufacturers
have been proven to provide immunity against Covid and each of the variants
that we have encountered since the pandemic," he says. "[However,]
similar to other vaccines and diseases, as time goes by, the circulating
antibody levels will start to drop," hence the need for a booster to
prevent more breakthrough infections.
So should I still get the booster?
The answer here is a resounding yes, says Dr
Singh. Once again, getting vaccinated and boosted is the best line of defence
in protecting against Covid altogether and reducing your chances of severe
symptoms and hospitalizations if you get a breakthrough infection. The odds of
severe illness are much less favourable if you're not vaccinated, so if you
still haven't rolled up your sleeve, make your appointment to get your vaccine
today.
So yes, getting sick when you're vaxxed sucks, but rest assured knowing you're likely not going to feel as crappy as you otherwise might if you weren't vaccinated and boosted.