Last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the COVID-19 vaccines will not be a magic bullet that will miraculously end the pandemic.
We now know that this is true: even though vaccines can protect against severe illness and death, some fully vaccinated individuals have gotten infected with the coronavirus.
And because COVID-19 is so annoyingly persistent, we may need more than just two doses of a vaccine to stay immune.
Govt Making Plans to Deploy COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Jabs by End-2021 If Needed
That’s why the government is making plans to deploy these booster vaccine shots by the end of 2021 if necessary.
This was announced by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong in Parliament after he was asked a question on the need for additional vaccine doses.
“For COVID-19, there may come a day when we have to continue to have regular booster jabs and we are putting in place plans to operationalise that,” he said.
He noted that some Singaporeans are anxious and want to know about the need for such a shot in the future.
However, he urged residents to focus on the two-dose vaccination regimen that is currently being rolled out for now.
In the meantime, he said government planning teams are drawing up operational plans that can start from the end of this year or the beginning of 2022 if the booster jabs are needed.
“At the end of the day, it may turn out to be similar to the flu jabs that we get every year,” he said.
“Because of the variants, because of different viruses and bacteria that we are confronting, we need to continue to have booster jabs for flu vaccines.”
Similarly, there are several COVID-19 variants of concern spreading around the world, which could make vaccines less effective.
This booster shot would likely come one year after one has completed their vaccination regimen.
Moderna Booster Shot Increases Antibodies Against COVID-19 Variants
On 5 May, Moderna announced that early human trial data showed that a booster vaccine shot increases immunity against variants of COVID-19 first found in Brazil and South Africa.
This shot could either be a third dose of either its current COVID-19 vaccine or an experimental new vaccine.
It was also found to boost antibodies against the original coronavirus strain.
The shots were administered to those who had completed Moderna’s two-dose vaccine regimen as part of a 40-person trial.
Both their current vaccine and a new vaccine developed to protect against the South African strain were given in the trial.
Both booster shots boosted antibodies against all the COVID-19 strains in the trial, but the new experimental vaccine appeared to be more effective against the South African variant than the current vaccine.
So, if a booster shot is all it takes to quell this infectious beast, I’m sure residents will be more than happy to offer up their arms.
Feature Image: angellodeco / Shutterstock.com
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