A coronavirus vaccine may require boosters - here's what that means

Some vaccines are made by disabling the infectious agent in some way so that it becomes safe to introduce to our bodies, but still goes through its normal life cycle

In the global race to contain the coronavirus pandemic, there is hopeful news on the vaccine front, with a number of potential candidates being developed and some promising early results. Based on what we know so far, it currently seems likely that most potential vaccines designed to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 will require boosters, perhaps regularly. Why is this?

When an infectious agent enters the body, the immune system will notice this and create a memory, so that the next time it encounters the agent there will be a