Booster Shots Weaken Your Immune System?
I just got my booster shot today. Оops?
It was a typical day. I went straight home for lunch after my booster shot appointment. I opened up Youtube to watch the new uploads from 4 of my current favourite YouTubers; ur mom’s house.
Well. I digress.
Back to Business
Youtube suddenly recommended a video posted on January 18 by a Drbeen Medical Lectures. It is a 30-minute informational video, but let me do you a favour and share its gist.
The video starts by stating that the EU’s drug regulator and WHO warned that too many doses of the COVID-19 vaccines would eventually weaken the immune system.
How many are too many doses, you ask? Not more than four times.
Four is the maximum. That should be our mantra for now.
Quoting Marco Cavaleri, the head of vaccine strategy for the EMA (European Medicines Agency)
“Booster shots can be administered once, or maybe twice, but it’s not something that we think should be repeated constantly. Boosters should be administered just like an annual flu vaccination instead”
I’m safe as this is my first booster shot. pheww.
So, Dr. Been kindly summarizes the mechanism of how repeated vaccinations in a short period will cause a system overload, subsequently resulting in a weakened immune system. Now, let’s get to the meat and potatoes!
Meet the General of the Immune System Army
Vaccines contain the virus material that instructs our cells to make harmless proteins responding to the virus. They stimulate the production of our antibodies and provide us with immunity against one or several diseases.
Our T-cells are the leading player in creating an immune response and producing a family of memory cells.
Our T-cells will multiply and differentiate into i)helper cells, ii)regulatory cells, iii)cytotoxic T cells or iv) memory T-cells.
For this specific discussion, we’ll pay a closer attention to iii) cytotoxic T-cells and iv) memory T-cells.
The cytotoxic T cells bind to and kill sick, infected cells by programming them to undergo apoptosis (cell death).
Memory T cells are, however, are antigen-specific T cells that remain in the body long-term after an infection has been eliminated. Therefore, they will be quickly converted into large numbers of cytotoxic T-cells upon re-exposure to the specific invading antigen, thus providing a rapid response to past infection.
We need our memory T cells to be healthy and ready to combat the subsequent exposure. That’s where the concerns came in. Immunologists believe that repeated exposure to the vaccines will lead to T-cell exhaustion.
T-Cell Exhaustion
It is a state of T-cell dysfunction that arises during many chronic infections and cancer. It is defined by poor effector function and sustained expression of inhibitory receptors from functional T cells. Exhaustion prevents optimal control of infection and tumours. In short, our T-cells are blocked from reacting.
T-cell exhaustion may be one of the most common mechanisms observed in chronic diseases like hepatitis and HIV.
If we are tired from a long day of work, an adequate amount of sleep will get us going for a brand new day. But unfortunately, the T-cells don’t work that way.
If the T-cells are exhausted before they become memory cells, waiting to be exposed to the next T-cell. The memory T cells will be awakened in an exhausted state upon activation. Their inactive state does not equate to the cells resting and reenergizing for the next pathogen attack. Overall, resulting in weaker reactions.
In Conclusion
Most countries are on the right track in constructing their vaccine strategy. However, one important note is that:
- We should leave more time between booster programs
- We should tie the programs to each hemisphere’s onset of the cold season, following the blueprint set out by influenza vaccination strategies.
And I think I should reiterate the frequency of repeated exposure to the COVID-19 vaccines. We should not get the booster shots more than 2 times. Including the first two primaries’ mandatory doses, we should not be getting anything exceeding two booster shots. So, in total, it is better to only get it four times.
This video discourages the theoretical practice of getting booster shots every four months from being enforced.
Again quoting Marco Cavaleri,
“We need to think about how we can transition from the current pandemic setting to a more endemic setting”
Which is appropriate and a much-needed reassurance to the general public. Finally, we are past the infectious part of the pandemic.
I don’t mean to say that the variants are not contagious; it’s just that their symptoms are less harmful. The Omicron and Delta variant, for example, less commonly accounts for the loss of taste and smell.
I believe that we are moving in the right direction. So, let’s go through it together positively and with a clearer mind.
I hope this summary clears up on the clickbait-y title.
Thank you for reading, and have a great night! or day:)
