Immunity could last at least 1 year after second COVID-19 vaccine dose, researchers say

Researchers are trying to pin down how long the coronavirus vaccine will protect people. We looked at the research for the Moderna vaccine and what it means for getting people’s lives back to normal.

Researchers say, even after the second dose, there’s no data that proves immunity will last into 2022.

“From what we’ve seen so far, I think our expectation is that the vaccine should last you at least a year,” said Dr. Tal Zaks, the chief medical officer of Moderna, during the 35th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

“It’s an educated guess because they’ve actually done a study on some of their phase one, trial volunteers, and they’ve seen a prolonged immune response for three or four months,” said Dr. Michael Teng, an immunology expert at USF.

Even if immunity only lasts a year, you can restart the clock and your immunity with another booster.

“We think there is an opportunity to boost, especially the ones at high risk, should you need it, but it will take us some time to generate that data,” said Zaks during the conference. “We have to follow people until we see the year.”

By the time immunity from the first two shots wears off, and you need a booster, researchers tell us, it won’t matter which brand of the vaccine you previously got.