Last week, I discussed what happens after a herd immunity threshold is reached, an aspect I had not seen widely talked about. Continuing in that vein, let's talk about COVID-19 boosters. Vaccines are valuable both as personal medical interventions and as public health interventions. Those roles overlap, but not completely. Articles like this one do a good job discussing the evidence for why boosters are being considered, and framing their value from a personal medical perspective. However, my sense is that the biggest … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Two for Me, One for You
immunology
Science Corner: Shepherding our Immunity
I imagine many of you have learned more about herd immunity in the past 18 months than you ever wanted to: what it is, how many people have to be vaccinated to achieve it, whether we'll ever get there or if that is even the right goal. And yet one aspect I have not seen widely reported on is what happens after we get there. Human behavior remains a significant driver of the pandemic, and our expectations will influence our emotional reactions to future events which will impact our future behavior. So what do you expect … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Shepherding our Immunity
Science Corner: Unlocking Immunity
As you read this, millions of people around the world are making antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. None of those people were born with a gene for those specific antibodies. Yet in just a couple of weeks following exposure to the virus--or now, one of its proteins via a vaccine--their immune systems can make antibodies that bind tightly and very specifically to the outside of the coronavirus, inhibiting its ability to infect their cells. The close and unique match between antibody and antigen has been compared to the fit of … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Unlocking Immunity