The questions I have about the COVID vaccine booster 🔬

I got vaccinated in April. Both shots of the Pzifer vaccine. The evidence is that it is quite effective, as while people are still getting sick from Delta varient, people aren’t ending up in the hospital or dying.

I’m not sure about the next round of boosters for they a proposing people get in 8 months. So far the vaccine has had an excellent safety record and I nor my friends have not had any ill effects from the vaccine except feeling a little ill after the second shot for a few years.

But I just wonder about the idea of injecting more of the same substance after the effects of the vaccine wear off. It really feels like to me the ideology of a heroin user – inject more to feel better. Substances used in moderation are often safe but things build up resistance and bioaccumulate. I am reminded of DDT and how harmless it was proven to mammals but how destructive it became to birds’ egg shells as they choice pesticide on farms and in the home.

Science is better now than fifty years ago. I am sure they have thoroughly tested the extra third dose on animals and humans. Messenger RNA has a short life both in the environment and in the human body – it’s quickly attacked by human bodies and natural forces, and broken down to harmless amino acids. But what if there is something that science is missing like with DDT?

There is a lot of good reasons why the drug manufacturers are more than happy to have a third round of vaccinations. For one, they have an extra stock of vaccines and it’s the same substance used for round 1 and 2. Pharmacies already have it in stock, factories continue to crank it out at a breakneck speed. Might as well use the supply by injecting it into people arms as a booster before its sent to the landfill, manufacturers say.

Lasting immunity might be hard with a Coronavirus as most are relatively harmless so our bodies T-cells might not prioritize memory of the virus and attack it immediately upon entry like it would with other deadly diseases. So maybe boosters are necessary. If the science continues to indicate that it is a good, safe preventive step come November or December when I’m eligible, I’ll give it a good hard look.

But I’m not celebrating or embracing a third shot but it is necessary I’ll give it a good hard look.