Prognosis
When's the Best Time to Get a Booster Shot? Doctors Suggest a Six-Month Interval
- Third Covid vaccine doses are being given to quell winter wave
- Waiting at least four months may improve immune protection
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Booster shots are rolling out across much of the world to spur protection against Covid-19, prompting questions about when exactly they should be given. While there aren’t clear-cut answers, doctors say there’s a downside to getting them too soon.
It takes time for the immune system to build up its defenses. Following vaccination or a natural infection, cells in the lymph nodes begin to mature and improve so they’re better prepared if they encounter the pathogen again. It takes several months to build what’s known as immune memory -- essentially protection galvanized by long-lived, antibody-secreting plasma cells that reside in niches such as the bone marrow.