Can Booster Side Effects Tell You How Immune You Are to Covid?

A Covid-19 vaccine clinic in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Photographer: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg

Hi, it’s Kristen in New York. Recently, I got my booster shot, and, well, it didn’t go exactly as I had hoped. But before we get to that...

When the new, omicron-specific boosters arrived on the scene, I jumped at the chance to roll up my sleeve. I scheduled my shot for a Sunday morning, then planned to go about my business, showing a pal from San Francisco around town. I’d had no reaction to my third shot, so I assumed my fourth would be similar. That was a mistake.