So, how do the COVID vaccines (grouped together for this piece) compare to other vaccines?

I’ll tell you. But first, I gotta disclaim:

1. Yes. I am a medical doctor.

2. No. I am not your doctor.

3. No. I am not providing you with medical advice.

4. Yes. I do not know you.

5. What you choose to do re: the COVID vaccine is a choice made among (you) + (your physician) + (whomever else you decide to include) +/- (government/employer mandates). I am completely out of it as far as your health care choices are concerned.

As always, it is important to define our terms. For example, when I say “chair,” you may conjure an image very different from the one I do.

When it comes to vaccines, vaccinations, and immunity/immunization the definitions depend on the year.

According to the CDC:

In 2012:

Immunization: The process by which a person or animal becomes protected against a disease. This term is often used interchangeably with vaccination or inoculation.

Vaccination: Injection of a killed or weakened infectious organism in order to prevent the disease.

Vaccine: A product that produces immunity therefore protecting the body from the disease. Vaccines are administered through needle injections, by mouth and by aerosol.

In 2015:

Immunity: Protection from an infectious disease. If you are immune to a disease, you can be exposed to it without becoming infected.

Vaccine: A product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but can also be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.

Vaccination: The act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific disease.

Immunization: A process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through vaccination. This term is often used interchangeably with vaccination or inoculation.

In August 2021:

Immunity: Protection from an infectious disease. If you are immune to a disease, you can be exposed to it without becoming infected.

Vaccine: A product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but can also be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.

Vaccination: The act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific disease.

Immunization: A process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through vaccination. This term is often used interchangeably with vaccination or inoculation.

In September 2021:

Immunity: Protection from an infectious disease. If you are immune to a disease, you can be exposed to it without becoming infected.

Vaccine: A preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but some can be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.

Vaccination: The act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce protection from a specific disease.

Immunization: A process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through vaccination. This term is often used interchangeably with vaccination or inoculation.

Over time, about 9 years, a vaccine has gone from preventing illness to protecting from illness to producing immunity to stimulating the body’s immune response against diseases.

The definition of vaccine seems, arguably, on the same trajectory as a meritocracy.

Next up – vaccines will get participation trophies.

Some of you may be aware, the powers-that-be are suggesting boosters and/or an additional dose. The two are not the same (emphasis in the original).

A COVID-19 booster is given when a person has completed their vaccine series, and protection against the virus has decreased over time. 

An additional dose is administered to people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems. This additional dose is intended to improve immunocompromised people’s response to their initial vaccine series.

This issue of protection against the virus decreasing over time, though not a unique characteristic of the COVID vaccines, is distinguishable in some ways from other vaccines.

As examples, tetanus and diphtheria vaccines take “over 40 years for protective immunity to be lost,” while immunity to measles and rubella has a decay rate of “only 1% to 2% of the population losing protective immunity per decade.” “For vaccinia, just over 60% of the population have protective levels of antibodies at the outset (year 0), and this has dropped to 40% after 100 years—which corresponds to about 3% of the population losing protective immunity per decade.”

The period of protection conferred by the COVID vaccine is of a hugely shorter duration than other vaccines.

Other vaccines?

Hepatitis A – “The vaccine to prevent it is about 95% effective in healthy adults and can work for more than 20 years. In children, it’s about 85% effective and can last 15 to 20 years.”

Hepatitis B – “Studies indicate that immunologic memory remains intact for at least 30 years among healthy people who initiated hepatitis B vaccination at >6 months of age (16). The vaccine confers long-term protection against clinical illness and chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Cellular immunity appears to persist even though antibody levels might become low or decline below detectable levels.”

MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) – “People who receive MMR vaccination according to the U.S. vaccination schedule are usually considered protected for life against measles and rubella. While MMR provides effective protection against mumps for most people, immunity against mumps may decrease over time and some people may no longer be protected against mumps later in life. An additional dose may be needed if you are at risk because of a mumps outbreak.”

Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) – “[A]dults should receive a booster dose of either Tdap or Td (a different vaccine that protects against tetanus and diphtheria but not pertussis) every 10 years, or after 5 years in the case of a severe or dirty wound or burn. “ (emphasis in the original)

(For a more complete list of available vaccines and facts about them, go here.)

As can be seen, the COVID vaccine protection is toward, if not at, the low end of the vaccine protection spectrum.

Talk now is of a future filled with COVID vaccinations:

The CEO of pharmaceutical giant Moderna says that even younger people will have to get vaccine booster shots at least once every three years…

The CEO said older and vulnerable people would “undoubtedly” need refresher shots at least once a year, while even younger people who face an infinitesimal chance of dying from the virus will need booster shots every three years.

As data shows that Covid-19 vaccines do not provide long-lasting immune protection, countries such as Israel and Austria are canceling “expired” vaccination cards and requiring citizens and visitors to receive booster shots to ‘refresh’ their vaccination status

Israeli data show that the effectiveness of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine has dropped from 95% relative risk reduction during the initial trials to only 39% by the end of July

“This is simply because the vaccine is only valid for five to six months in terms of its effectiveness. After about half a year, you need to get a third dose. Otherwise, the vaccine loses its effectiveness,” Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said…

In August, Austria and Croatia were the first countries to announce that they would set expiration dates for older vaccine shots…

As far as vaccines go, it looks as if an argument can be made that the COVID vaccine has benefitted from low expectations.

(I chose not to cite VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) data when comparing vaccines as it is “a passive reporting system, meaning it relies on individuals to send in reports of their experiences to CDC and FDA. VAERS is not designed to determine if a vaccine caused a health problem” and, thus, less objective than the durability data.)

Photo credit: emmer.com.er CC BY-NC 4.0 license

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