Pfizer, Moderna vaccines could offer protection for years, research shows

CHICAGO - New research published on Monday found the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines could offer protection for years, lessening the chance of needing a booster shot anytime soon.

For Doctor Shikha Jain, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago, this is just the latest selling point.

"Everything that's coming out is supporting the fact that these vaccines are so effective, and they really– we have the chance to save hundreds of thousands of lives with just a shot," Dr. Jain said.

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Another study from UCLA found that those who have had COVID basically got their "first dose" from the sickness and may require just a single dose of the two-dose vaccines to get the same protection.

The same study found antibodies drop dramatically 85 days after a second dose, but Dr. Jain says that is not a worry.

"The antibodies dropping after two-and-a-half months does not mean that you are not protected, your body has a slew of other things that can help you be protected, that the vaccine helps to stimulate, so make sure you get your vaccine," Dr. Jain explained.

As the Delta COVID-19 variant spreads, the UIC Chief of Infectious Disease, Richard Novak, says vaccines are key now more than ever.

"This version of the virus, the Delta variant, is more contagious and causes a worse illness and so people who are not vaccinated are going to be magnets for this virus. It spreads rapidly in the United States as it has in other countries," Dr. Novak said.

Dr. Novak says Delta is likely just one of the troubling variants we will see unless everyone gets vaccinated.