IIPH-Hyderabad Director Dr. G.V.S. Murthy, informed that the antibody protection against COVID variants including Omicron is waning off over 6-9 months after vaccination and 9-12 months after a booster. But, at the same time, the other aspect of protection against infection is called ‘cell-mediated immunity’.
The duration of this immunity is long-lasting and may also protect for the whole life. “At the moment one does not know how long such an immunity will last as the experience with vaccination has only been about a year. This will determine whether annual booster shots are required or not. Even if annual booster shots are required, it may only be for those with high risk of infection and those who have low immunity. So, we will have to wait and watch rather than rushing into an annual vaccine cycle at the moment,” he explains.
Any new infection like the COVID that affects the human population, goes through a cycle of sudden surge phase (the epidemic) and the consolidation phase (endemic) where the infection keeps affecting those not protected or have low protection. The same will happen with COVID-19 as it happened with earlier viral infections as there is no way that the virus can be eliminated from our environment, adds Dr. Murthy.
