Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, Regional Chief of Infectious Diseases at Kaiser Permanente, joined Eyewitness News to discuss the vaccine and answered a question from a viewer who wanted to know if seniors vaccinated in February need a booster shot in the fall .
Dr. Hudson said that while we only have six months of data on the vaccines, because we’ve been using them for so long, it’s hard to say.
“But every day we learn more and more about it and it really looks like the response and protection against these COVID vaccines will be sustainable,” she said. “I think at least a year and probably longer, but with everything COVID has to offer, time will tell.”
New research published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests protection against the Moderna vaccine lasts for at least six months. That report echoes what Pfizer said a week earlier about its vaccine, which works in a similar way.
Both reports were based on follow-up testing in dozens of people who received the injections during studies leading up to the use of the vaccines. Those studies were done before disturbing new variants or versions of the coronavirus emerged and started spreading.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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