Coronavirus: With new emerging variants, will COVID-19 booster shots become a regular affair?

With the emergence of COVID's Omicron variant, health officials around the world have raised concerns and urge people to stay vigilant and get their coronavirus vaccinations on time.

Additionally, this has stirred conversations around the need for vaccine boosters, especially for those who received their vaccine doses during the first leg of vaccine roll out. While in some countries like the US and Israel, vaccine boosters are being administered in full swing, India is yet to consider authorizing the same in the country, since they believe many developed natural immunity during the second wave and that two doses of COVID vaccine provide enough protection.

However, many still argue that immunity from vaccines wanes over time. Those who have pre-existing health conditions, possess a weak immune system, continue to be at great risk. In addition, new variants continue to add to our woes and worsen the situation, which is why, if ever India decides on administering booster shots, it is important for us to know whether it will become an annual affair just like the flu vaccine.

Read also: Coronavirus: With looming Omicron threat, these are the people who need a COVID booster dose

Booster shots are said to extend the immune protection provided by the two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. While experts believe that vaccine-induced immunity may diminish over time, administering additional shots can trigger more effective immune responses, while also increasing antibody counts in the body.

That said, the best time to get a booster shot can be determined by the level of immunity in the body. Antibody levels can be ascertained by antibody testing at least 14 days after the administration of the second dose.

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, "People who have had 2 shots of Pfizer-BioNTech may receive a COVID-19 booster shot 6 months after their second dose." Similarly, clinical evidence has suggested that greater intervals may boost better immune responses. However, immunocompromised people or those who fall under the vulnerable category may need to get their booster doses as soon as possible.

In light of new emerging variants, first the Delta, now Omicron, the demand for vaccine boosters has only increased. Fully vaccinated individuals continue to remain at risk. Even after receiving two doses of the vaccine, there have been many cases of breakthrough infections, which have become a cause for concern.

Now, with the emergence of a new, heavily mutated Omicron variant, experts believe it has the ability to escape vaccine immunity. While most cases reported so far are said to be 'mild', the sudden surge in the number of cases only highlight the infectiousness of the variant.

Currently, many vaccine manufacturing companies have come to the forefront and said that they may either "tweak" the vaccines or probably develop a new Omicron-specific shot, which will prove effective against the new strain. However, much remains under speculation.

Read also: Omicron versus Delta: How to differentiate between the two?

Almost a year has passed by since COVID-19 vaccines were launched in India to be administered to those above 45 years of age. Healthcare and frontline workers were also among the few people who were prioritized for the vaccination.

Having said that, experts believe booster shots might be needed to boost immune responses, given that the vaccine-induced immunity may diminish over time. However, there is no strong evidence to suggest the same.

As far as COVID-19 vaccines are concerned, they are a mimicry of an actual virus. Depending on the type of vaccine, whether mRNA vaccines or viral vector vaccines, it will help the body's immune system to recognize the inactive virus particles or spike protein and prompt necessary inflammatory reactions, which then leads to the production of antibodies. Later on, when an actual virus attacks the body's immune system, the antibodies help fight off the infection.

Considering vaccine-induced antibodies wane and diminish over time, booster shots come into play to re-expose a person's immune system to the immunizing antigen, the memory of which (after the previous dose) could have been lost over a period of time.

Although there is no strong evidence to prove that vaccine immunity diminishes over time, if the vaccine does work like other viral vaccines, which are subject to regular updation and booster shots, people would be requiring additional or annual shots every year.

As COVID-19 vaccines were first made available to the most vulnerable in the society, vaccine boosters will also be administered first to healthcare workers, people above the age of 65, immunocompromised people, those with underlying health condition and people who are undergoing strong treatments like radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or are on immunosuppressants.