To accompany “Will we all need COVID-19 booster shots?”

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

1.  Some vaccines convey protection for a lifetime; for others you need a booster shot from time to time. Name at least one vaccine that requires boosters.

During Reading:

1.  According to the story, why do researchers suspect a booster shot might be needed for vaccines against SARS-CoV-2?

2.  As of the date of the article, what share of people in the United States have already gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine?

3.  The vaccines’ protection against serious coronavirus disease lasts how long, according to data on people who became infected?

4.  What two types of immune troops fight a viral infection? How do the actions of the two types differ?

5.  Ali Ellebedy reports having measuring antibody-making cells for how long after people have recovered from COVID-19?

6.  How well do current vaccines protect people against SARS-CoV-2 variants? Why does Ellebedy say that if it weren’t for variants, “I don’t think we would be talking about potentially boosting.”

7.  The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases launched a new clinical trial for COVID-19 vaccines on June 1, 2021. What will it study? What evidence is there that such a trial could be effective?

After Reading:

1.  Many scientists argue that the main way to stop the emergence of new variants is to get everyone vaccinated. Explain why this may be true.