COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Pursuing vaccinations against COVID-19 brings hope to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and remains the most rational decision under pandemic conditions. However, it does not come without challenges, including temporary shortages in vaccine doses, significant vaccine inequity, and questions regarding t...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Piotr Rzymski, Carlos A. Camargo, Andrzej Fal, Robert Flisiak, Willis Gwenzi, Roya Kelishadi, Alexander Leemans, Juan J. Nieto, Ahmet Ozen, Matjaž Perc, Barbara Poniedziałek, Constantine Sedikides, Frank Sellke, Emilia C. Skirmuntt, Anzhela Stashchak, Nima Rezaei
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	immunology pandemic massive vaccinations vaccine inequity SARS-CoV-2 Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/79582b985a6c45618e72bb00b70b05e2
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:79582b985a6c45618e72bb00b70b05e2
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:79582b985a6c45618e72bb00b70b05e22021-11-25T19:11:05ZCOVID-19 Vaccine Boosters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly10.3390/vaccines91112992076-393Xhttps://doaj.org/article/79582b985a6c45618e72bb00b70b05e22021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/11/1299https://doaj.org/toc/2076-393XPursuing vaccinations against COVID-19 brings hope to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and remains the most rational decision under pandemic conditions. However, it does not come without challenges, including temporary shortages in vaccine doses, significant vaccine inequity, and questions regarding the durability of vaccine-induced immunity that remain unanswered. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 has undergone evolution with the emergence of its novel variants, characterized by enhanced transmissibility and ability to at least partially evade neutralizing antibodies. At the same time, serum antibody levels start to wane within a few months after vaccination, ultimately increasing the risk of breakthrough infections. This article discusses whether the administration of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines is urgently needed to control the pandemic. We conclude that, at present, optimizing the immunity level of wealthy populations cannot come at the expense of low-income regions that suffer from vaccine unavailability. Although the efficiency of vaccination in protecting from infection may decrease over time, current data show that efficacy against severe disease, hospitalization, and death remains at a high level. If vaccine coverage continues at extremely low levels in various regions, including African countries, SARS-CoV-2 may sooner or later evolve into variants better adapted to evade natural and vaccine-induced immunity, ultimately bringing a global threat that, of course, includes wealthy populations. We offer key recommendations to increase vaccination rates in low-income countries. The pandemic is, by definition, a major epidemiological event and requires looking beyond one’s immediate self-interest; otherwise, efforts to contain it will be futile.Piotr RzymskiCarlos A. CamargoAndrzej FalRobert FlisiakWillis GwenziRoya KelishadiAlexander LeemansJuan J. NietoAhmet OzenMatjaž PercBarbara PoniedziałekConstantine SedikidesFrank SellkeEmilia C. SkirmunttAnzhela StashchakNima RezaeiMDPI AGarticleimmunologypandemicmassive vaccinationsvaccine inequitySARS-CoV-2MedicineRENVaccines, Vol 9, Iss 1299, p 1299 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	immunology pandemic massive vaccinations vaccine inequity SARS-CoV-2 Medicine R
spellingShingle	immunology pandemic massive vaccinations vaccine inequity SARS-CoV-2 Medicine R Piotr Rzymski Carlos A. Camargo Andrzej Fal Robert Flisiak Willis Gwenzi Roya Kelishadi Alexander Leemans Juan J. Nieto Ahmet Ozen Matjaž Perc Barbara Poniedziałek Constantine Sedikides Frank Sellke Emilia C. Skirmuntt Anzhela Stashchak Nima Rezaei COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
description	Pursuing vaccinations against COVID-19 brings hope to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and remains the most rational decision under pandemic conditions. However, it does not come without challenges, including temporary shortages in vaccine doses, significant vaccine inequity, and questions regarding the durability of vaccine-induced immunity that remain unanswered. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 has undergone evolution with the emergence of its novel variants, characterized by enhanced transmissibility and ability to at least partially evade neutralizing antibodies. At the same time, serum antibody levels start to wane within a few months after vaccination, ultimately increasing the risk of breakthrough infections. This article discusses whether the administration of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines is urgently needed to control the pandemic. We conclude that, at present, optimizing the immunity level of wealthy populations cannot come at the expense of low-income regions that suffer from vaccine unavailability. Although the efficiency of vaccination in protecting from infection may decrease over time, current data show that efficacy against severe disease, hospitalization, and death remains at a high level. If vaccine coverage continues at extremely low levels in various regions, including African countries, SARS-CoV-2 may sooner or later evolve into variants better adapted to evade natural and vaccine-induced immunity, ultimately bringing a global threat that, of course, includes wealthy populations. We offer key recommendations to increase vaccination rates in low-income countries. The pandemic is, by definition, a major epidemiological event and requires looking beyond one’s immediate self-interest; otherwise, efforts to contain it will be futile.
format	article
author	Piotr Rzymski Carlos A. Camargo Andrzej Fal Robert Flisiak Willis Gwenzi Roya Kelishadi Alexander Leemans Juan J. Nieto Ahmet Ozen Matjaž Perc Barbara Poniedziałek Constantine Sedikides Frank Sellke Emilia C. Skirmuntt Anzhela Stashchak Nima Rezaei
author_facet	Piotr Rzymski Carlos A. Camargo Andrzej Fal Robert Flisiak Willis Gwenzi Roya Kelishadi Alexander Leemans Juan J. Nieto Ahmet Ozen Matjaž Perc Barbara Poniedziałek Constantine Sedikides Frank Sellke Emilia C. Skirmuntt Anzhela Stashchak Nima Rezaei
author_sort	Piotr Rzymski
title	COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
title_short	COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
title_full	COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
title_fullStr	COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
title_full_unstemmed	COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
title_sort	covid-19 vaccine boosters: the good, the bad, and the ugly
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/79582b985a6c45618e72bb00b70b05e2
work_keys_str_mv	AT piotrrzymski covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT carlosacamargo covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT andrzejfal covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT robertflisiak covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT willisgwenzi covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT royakelishadi covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT alexanderleemans covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT juanjnieto covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT ahmetozen covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT matjazperc covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT barbaraponiedziałek covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT constantinesedikides covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT franksellke covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT emiliacskirmuntt covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT anzhelastashchak covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly AT nimarezaei covid19vaccineboostersthegoodthebadandtheugly
_version_	1718410225227137024

COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Ejemplares similares