Older adults may need Covid boosters more often, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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People older than 75 experience a robust antibody response to Covid vaccines but it fades quickly, research by Sean Leng, a geriatrics expert at Johns Hopkins, has shown. 

Leng: Now the good news is when those same individuals got the first booster, their antibody titer shoot way back up. For all four measurements. The actual implications is we all need, particularly older adults, is to get the booster dose. But also as a geriatrician I feel really good about what we actually call the immune resilience despite the immune functional decline we are still able to mount a good antibody response.  :28

Leng says the exact interval an older person should adopt to get booster doses isn’t known, but he points to previous research on flu vaccines that resulted in those over 65 years of age receiving a double dose of vaccine to stimulate a bigger immune response. He says ongoing research should soon provide guidance but for now, follow CDC guidelines and the advice of your physician. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.