![]() RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common virus that causes cold-like symptoms in most people, but can be deadly in the very young or very old. But, on the plus side, you get it over and done with in one go. A study last year suggested that people’s reaction to having both can be slightly stronger, so you might feel a bit more tired or have a worse headache than if you had only one. Can I get a flu vaccination at the same time as a covid-19 booster? An older booster isn’t quite as good, but will still provide far more protection than no booster. However, people in the UK might get one of the bivalent boosters from last year instead of the new XBB one, because the plan is to use both. In the UK, the National Health Service has begun contacting people who are eligible for a booster. In the US, the 2023 boosters are becoming available from 18 September. So, this year’s boosters are monovalent, only containing mRNA for making the spike protein of the XBB.1.5 variant.įacebook change to control covid-19 vaccine misinformation failed Studies suggested that these bivalent boosters were less effective than they might have been because including the original strain tended to make the immune system rev up its previous response, instead of focusing more on the newer variants. Last year’s covid-19 boosters contained a mix of mRNA coding for the spike protein from the original virus and that of the BA.4 and BA.5 variants. Why do the boosters no longer contain the original version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus? However, an initial study released last week shows that the XBB boosters should work well against the BA.2.86 variant, too. Will the boosters protect against the new BA.2.86 variant?īA.2.86 is an emerging variant with lots of changes in the spike protein, so there has been concern about the extent to which it can dodge the protection from vaccination or previous infections. Moderna's improved mRNA covid-19 vaccine is effective at lower doses It has already been largely replaced by yet more new variants, but most of these are closely related to XBB.1.5, so the boosters should still provide excellent protection. XBB.1.5 was chosen for the boosters because it was the main variant causing infections in June, when the vaccines needed to be finalised. ![]() The boosters stimulate our immune systems to produce antibodies to the new versions of the spike protein. Newer variants have changes in their spike protein that help them evade the antibodies we have to older variants. The spike protein protrudes from the surface of the virus and plays a part in infecting cells. ![]() The boosters, made by Moderna and Pfizer, consist of an mRNA recipe for making the spike protein of the XBB.1.5 variant of SARS-CoV-2. Several countries, including the US, Canada and the UK, have approved new covid-19 booster vaccines, targeting a more recent variant than the boosters used last year. Covid-19 vaccines are updated to tackle the latest variants
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