New research: Booster shot can protect against coronavirus variants

This suggests that an additional boost, even using vaccines containing the original strain of coronavirus, will increase protection against variants of concern, the scientists said.

The findings have been published in Science Translational Medicine. The team identified a small group of healthcare workers vaccinated with the Pfizer jab. Around half of them were pre-exposed to the virus. The team compared the antibody response in them — before a vaccine dose, after the first dose, and after the second.

The findings were part of a wider study — PANTHER — looking at healthcare workers over a long period and their exposure to Covid-19, and the impact of that past infection and vaccination on their immunity.

Source: University of Nottingham