Covid-19: Do Vaccines provide long-term protection? Experts are not so sure
News making the round in the medical community is that covid vaccine protections are likely to wane after a period of time. Still, experts cannot tell how long the protection will last in vaccinated individuals. Some speculate that the first set of individuals to have been inoculated could see their protections wane this fall. Others speculate that Covid boosters may join flu shots given annually.
People who fear that their vaccine protection may fade may get tested for Covid antibodies, which is a primary defence against the Coronavirus. While this is easy for the average individual, cancer patients and others suffering from impaired immune systems will have a hard time getting tested for antibodies.
Fortunately for them, there is an antibody test that can show people whether they have antibodies in their systems or not. The challenge experts will have, though, is that they will not know how to interpret the results of such tests due to inadequate data.
Insufficient Data
Due to insufficient data, the inability of experts to interpret test results is a growing concern as already vaccinated people are unaware of their current immune state. This situation could eventually have far-reaching consequences for the global economy. Currently, scientists are trying to establish COVID-19 Research Standards which will provide assurance to communities.
New Data on the way
The good news is that new research data is already coming in on a weekly basis from many countries. With each new piece of data released, scientists will gain a renewed understanding of which immunity signatures provide protection. But experts warn that it will take months before they know more.
For now, no one knows for sure just how long vaccines last in the human body. The vaccines for protecting against Covid are new, so researchers have not followed vaccine recipients long enough to know how long the vaccines provide protection. However, evidence suggests that the antibody protection may last for six months at least.
Medical experts in different countries have continued to conduct tests on a subset of vaccinated individuals. Once more information is made public, further research will be done to determine the best measures to treat patients who get very little protection from the Covid-19 vaccines.
New treatment suggestions
Even before the results come out, some experts in the medical community are offering suggestions on ways to treat patients with limited vaccine protection. Some of the options suggested include the issuing of antibodies in the form of cocktails. Another option is to try out a third booster shot. This may be plausible when you consider that some patients have already received a third vaccine shot. However, some experts are calling for caution about trying out a new booster shot this early. Critics of this method are recommending that clinical trials be conducted first before any treatment is approved.
