SEE ALSO: FDA expected to OK COVID booster shots for immunocompromised Americans within 48 hours
To learn more about the booster shots, we interviewed Dr. Prathit Kulkarni, an assistant professor of medicine infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine.
What is the booster shot?
"The booster shot would essentially be an extra dose of the COVID vaccine beyond what has been currently recommended for the general public," said Kulkarni.
Will everybody need a booster shot?
"With regard to whether we can expect these, let's say, every year or every six months, or something like that, I do think that's theoretically possible," said Kulkarni. "I think it's going to depend on a few things: How long will we be protected from, especially, severe forms of the disease where you end up hospitalized or something worse from COVID? Third, sort of an unknown situation, is that, obviously, now we have the new delta variant, but the question will come if some other variants come down the road that is potentially less covered by the current vaccine?"
Should I wait to get the vaccine until we know more about possible boosters?
"If you wait a year, then that's potentially a year where you can go and potentially catch COVID. Although, we are talking about the possibility of boosters. Still, the current data we have right now, as of mid-August 2021, is that the vaccines are exceptionally protective even against the delta variant. Still, vaccines are exceptionally protective and are the best way to bring down the pandemic and try to bring down the current surge."
What happens next?
"It's certainly possible that we may need boosters at certain periodic times going forward. But, it's too early to say that definitively," he said.
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