Slideshow: COVID-19 Vaccines, Booster Immunity and Emerging Variants

Although the federal COVID-19 health emergency in the United States ended in May 2023, the disease still remains a threat to the public because of emerging variants. According to the latest data from the CDC, there were over 5600 hospital admissions due to COVID-19 for week ending April 20.¹ Vaccines are still the most effective way of preventing COVID-19 and research into their efficacy, safety, and other important measures continues.

References

1. COVID Data Tracker. Report. CDC. April 29, 2024. Accessed April 30, 2024. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home

2. Nguyenla XH, Bates TA, Trank-Greene M, et al. Evaluating humoral immunity elicited by XBB.1.5 monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. Emerg Infect Dis. 2024 Jun [date cited]. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3006.240051

3. Head JR, Collender PA, León TM, et al. COVID-19 Vaccination and Incidence of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Hospitalization. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(4):e247822. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.7822

4. Korosec, C.S., Dick, D.W., Moyles, I.R. et al. SARS-CoV-2 booster vaccine dose significantly extends humoral immune response half-life beyond the primary series. Sci Rep 14, 8426 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58811-3