Prognosis
How Long Do Vaccine Protections Last? Science Can’t Say for Sure
- Patients with cancer, immune issues seek proof of safety
- Researchers racing to figure out how to measure defenses
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Protection from coronavirus vaccines is expected to wane, but no one knows when. It could be as soon as this fall for the first wave of people vaccinated last winter, and many predict that Covid boosters will soon join annual flu shots.
Ideally, anyone worried about fading vaccine protection could get tested for Covid-fighting antibodies, the primary defense against the virus. But as cancer patients and others with impaired immune systems are learning, it’s not that simple.