Opinions: Questions about the need for a fourth vaccine shot, and omicron-specific vaccines

What's the Benefit of a Fourth COVID Vaccine? Experts say additional boosters could provide diminishing returns Amanda D'Ambrosio medpagetoday

...  as daily infections break records and hospitals across the country near capacity during the Omicron surge, many people have raised questions about whether they'll need to get a fourth dose.

Some wonder whether their waning antibody levels from a booster shot last September will be protective during this period. Others question whether or not their immune systems would even benefit from continual boosting in the future.

ALSO SEE: Omicron-specific vaccines could be ready by March. Will we need them?

While there is no indication that a fourth shot would be harmful, experts said it is still unclear whether the U.S. should offer another jab to the general population. However, they agreed that additional vaccine doses may begin to provide diminishing returns, and may not be an effective public health strategy moving forward.

"I think it would be premature to move at a wholesale public health policy level to a fourth dose without more data," said Gregory Poland, MD, director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group in Rochester, Minnesota.

High-risk populations are a different story, Poland noted, and fourth dose initiatives have already entered the conversation to protect vulnerable groups in both the U.S. and other countries. As of last week, Israel is the first country to offer a fourth dose to people who are immunocompromised, medical workers, and individuals over age 60. Initial data show that antibody levels after a fourth dose increased by five-fold a week after the shot was administered. ...