Studies suggest those who have already overcome the COVID-19 virus might require just one dose of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The finding is significant as the Biden administration seeks to provide enough vaccine for the entire American population by the end of summer.
The studies have found just one vaccine dose can amplify the existing antibody levels in those who have already been infected with the coronavirus – which is nearly 30 million Americans to date. Also, past immunity has less effect on the variants, most notably the South African one, while the vaccine can help in addressing them, according to research.
"I think it's a really strong rationale for why people who were previously infected with COVID should be getting the vaccine," University of Toronto immunologist Jennifer Gommerman told the Times.
One study even noted the second dose for those infected and recovered from COVID-19 around 8-9 months out does not increase the antibody levels, whereas the first dose increases it "hundredfold to a thousandfold," the Times reported.
"It's a real testament to the strength of the immunologic memory that they get a single dose and have a huge increase," N.Y.U. Langone Vaccine Center's Dr. Mark J. Mulligan, author of the study, told the Times.
Another study specifically noted those who had been infected with COVID-19 before had more antibodies after the first dose than those who had not – albeit with more severe side effects, per the report.
"If you put all four papers together, that's providing pretty good information about people who already had an infection only needing one vaccination," Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York Dr. Florian Krammer, the author of that study, told the Times.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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