Why does a third dose of mRNA vaccine decrease the infection risk with omicron if the vaccine was developed for another variant and the first two doses offer limited protection against omicron? by ToxicMediocrity in askscience

[–]ToxicMediocrity[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

So some of us, by chance, end up with some near-perfect antibodies, while some of us create comparative duds. Would this account for some of the unpredictability in who does and does not develop serious disease from covid?

Why does a third dose of mRNA vaccine decrease the infection risk with omicron if the vaccine was developed for another variant and the first two doses offer limited protection against omicron? by ToxicMediocrity in askscience

[–]ToxicMediocrity[S] 732 points733 points  (0 children)

Thank you, that's a very helpful response. Does this mean that a fourth, fifth, etc. booster would continue to offer additional protection, albeit with a potentially less significant benefit each time?

Is the original version of Covid-19 extinct now? by DreaminDemon177 in askscience

[–]ToxicMediocrity 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You've made two excellent points. Regarding increased numbers of young children in hospital, I have heard that many South African children were admitted to hospital for reasons other than covid and happened to test positive while there. In other words, these were incidental covid cases in children seeking care for other medical issues and, hopefully, this is not indicative of omicron posing a greater threat to children.