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dropdeadfred, Read this one as openly as others read yours. Two bits here

COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Vs. Fiction: An Expert Weighs in on Common Fears

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Is immunity from the vaccine stronger than natural immunity from infection?

“The first time your body sees the spike protein, it activates some immune system cells to begin to recognize and develop antibodies against that protein,” said Boslett. The response may be similar whether that first encounter is from infection with the virus or from the first dose of the vaccine.

Studies of the mRNA vaccines suggest that one dose may offer between 50 to 80 percent protection against symptomatic COVID-19, though more data is needed, said Boslett. “We know you get some amount of protection after one dose of the vaccine or after infection with the virus, but we don’t know in either case how long that protection lasts,” she said. Some cases of reinfection have been reported after three to six months, so the protection from one dose of the vaccine also may wane in that timeframe.

“However, when you get the second dose of the vaccine, you’re further training your immune system,” said Boslett. “You’re strengthening that response from the antibody-producing B cells and you’re also activating T memory cells that stick around for much longer.” Getting both doses of the vaccine means your body is shown this spike protein multiple times in a short duration. “So that immune response might be bigger, better and longer lasting than just getting the infection one time,” she said.

Because the booster effect is so important, Boslett adds that this is why people who have had COVID-19 are still recommended to get the vaccine.

VERDICT: Probably.

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Will we need new vaccines if the virus continues to mutate?

“The amount of changes that we’re seeing in the coronavirus is not an overwhelming number of changes, but we do have these other variants coming out in the U.K. and in South Africa,” said Boslett. “At some point, could the number of mutations on the spike protein end up overwhelming what the vaccine can cover? I think that is possible.”

Whether we’ll need a new vaccine every year depends on how quickly we can get the pandemic under control. The likelihood of mutations depends on how much virus is circulating, said Boslett. “When there’s lots and lots of virus out there, that enables it to be inside of humans and make all kinds of little errors in its reproduction, and some of those mutations may end up helping the virus to spread.”

It’s also uncertain how long immunity from the COVID-19 vaccine will last. We need a flu vaccine every year not only because the flu virus mutates quickly but also because the antibody response wanes over time, according to Boslett.

The good news is that mRNA vaccines are relatively easy to adjust to target a new variant. (Moderna is already developing a new form of its vaccine aimed at the variant in South Africa, which could be given as a booster shot.) “I think that can be done in just two or three months,” said Boslett. “But how often we’re going to have to do that, I think remains to be seen.”

VERDICT: Maybe

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