How can you optimize the immune response to a second COVID vaccination? It turns out that it is easy.
Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University tested the immune response after research subjects received their second COVID vaccine. Half of them got the shot in the same arm as the first vaccination; the other half got it in the other arm.
The anti-COVID immune response was measured at various times after the second shot. At 3 weeks after the second shot the subjects who SWITCHED ARMS HAD UP TO 4 TIMES the response than those using the same arm.
The higher immune response persisted for at least 13 months. It is surmised that the higher immune response was a result of it being initiated in different lymph nodes (i.e., nodes draining different arms).
The research was published by Fazli and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Investigation January 16, 2024. The article can be found by typing the following in a search bar:
https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI176411
Peter M. Hartmann, MD
Family Medicine & Psychiatry
