Vaccines do this by improving our immunity against certain diseases. Under normal circumstances, exposure to disease gives us immunity2. For example, if we get sick with chickenpox as a child, our body develops immunity to that disease. This means that we already have antibodies that are specifically “trained” to fight chickenpox.
Vaccines work similarly by triggering an immune response within our body. As the immune response gets triggered, our immune systems “learn” how to defend the body from that specific illness when exposed again in the future. However, the benefit of vaccines is that we don’t need to get “sick” or expose ourselves to disease in order to gain immunity.
Why do you need the COVID vaccine second dose?
As effective as vaccines are, there are situations where a single dose is not enough. This is the case when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine. The first dose is enough to trigger an immune response, but as far as effectiveness is concerned, a single dose is not enough.
This is why the COVID vaccine second dose comes in. Researchers found that after some time, the immunity provided by the first dose tends to plateau. Getting a second dose can help increase the effectiveness of the vaccine3.
In addition, we’re still not sure how long the immunity provided by the Covid vaccine lasts. Having 2 doses ensures that you stay protected, for longer.
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