Publication details
Editorial: COVID-19 booster vaccination: increasing immunity against life-threatening infection
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Frontiers in Public Health |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1342118/full |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1342118 |
| Description | The emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused the global transmission of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and continues to evolve. COVID-19 vaccines were rapidly developed within a year of the disease's emergence. In the early stages of the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines were designed based on the related ancestral (wild-type) strain and were typically administered in two shots for full priming vaccination. They proved effective against severe infections but did not provide complete protection against symptomatic infections . Breakthrough infections commonly occur even after a full priming vaccination . The main reasons for this are waning immunity and the emergence of newly evolved variants of concern (VOCs), such as Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (B.1.1.529), which have higher contagiousness and altered amino acid sequences that evade immunity . However, vaccines still offer protection against life-threatening infections and reduce the likelihood of long-term sequelae (long COVID-19). Furthermore, high-risk groups, such as older adults, those with underlying medical conditions , obese individuals, immunocompromised individuals, solid organ transplant recipients, and oncology patients, including the recipients of immunotherapy or chemotherapy, are at greater risk of life-threatening infection or mortality due to insufficient immune response compared to healthy individuals. Given the waning immunity and circulation of emerging VOCs, and the vulnerability of high-risk groups, it is evident that full priming vaccination may not provide sufficient protection against the widespread global spread of the disease. |