How Does a Variant-Specific Covid Booster Work?

The Covid-19 messenger RNA vaccines are getting an update. The new booster shots rolling out across the US and Europe this week are specifically tailored to currently circulating Omicron variants. Health officials think these will provide better protection against newer versions of SARS-CoV-2 than earlier shots, which were designed to target the virus that was first detected in late 2019.

Since its emergence, the coronavirus has been constantly changing. These mutations have allowed it to spread more easily and to better evade the immune system response provoked by the original vaccines and boosters. Although Omicron and its subvariants are the most transmissible yet, our vaccines have remained the same.

“Basically, we’re

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