Too Many COVID-19 Booster Shots May Actually Weaken Our Immune System: Experts


COVID-19 Booster Shots Should Not Be Given Too Close Together: Experts 4th vaccine shot , Omicron variant

South Korea will start giving fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines to high-risk groups this month. US CDC has also shorten the gap for booster dose to 3 months from the current interval of 3 months for immunocompromised people.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : February 15, 2022 1:11 PM IST

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Several countries have expanded COVID-19 vaccine booster programmes or shortened the gap between jabs to shore up protection against the highly transmissible Omicron variant. But some experts have argued that a 4th vaccine shot won't likely provide more protection against the viral infection and getting too many COVID-19 booster shots may actually weaken our immune system.

Addressing a press briefing, experts from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) warned that booster shots should not be given too close together as it could potentially weaken our immune response.

Marco Cavaleri, the head of Biological Health Threats and Vaccines Strategy at the EMA, expressed concern about the repeated vaccination within a short term. He argued that giving a booster dose too frequently, say every 3 or 4 months, will potentially cause a problem with the immune response, and "the immune response may end up not being as good as we would like it to be."

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So, Cavaleri cautioned against overloading the immune system with repeated immunization.

*Booster doesn't appear to provide more protection against Omicron *

Last month, results of a preliminary research at an Israeli hospital also reported that a 4th vaccine shot doesn't appear to produce enough antibodies to prevent infection from the Omicron variant.

The study included 274 medical workers at Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv who received a fourth dose in December after previously being inoculated with three Pfizer-BioNTech shots. While 154 of them received the same Pfizer-BioNTech vaccin e, the rest were given Moderna vaccine. Both groups experienced a slightly increase in antibodies, but that did not prevent the spread of omicron, the researcher stated.