Are COVID boosters less effective each time you get them?

BOSTON -- One of my viewers asked me a question that can frequently come up when hearing conflicting information.

"Is it true that the more boosters you receive, the less benefit you get?" he asked.

It's true that you don't want to get boosters too close together; that waiting at least 4 months between shots will probably give you a better immune response. 

But we know that the COVID boosters protect against severe disease and death, especially in high-risk individuals, and provide some protection against infection in the first three months after vaccination. So if you are over 65 and immunocompromised and have not received your second bivalent booster, please contact your physician. 

Come this fall, the boosters will likely change and will only target Omicron subvariants and no longer target the original strain of the coronavirus. The hope is that focusing only on Omicron will likely trigger a stronger antibody response. This new vaccine will likely roll out in September or October before a rise in COVID cases is expected.  

In:
• Health
• COVID-19

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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