Medical expert weighs in on vaccine duration

Chief of Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Dr. Mark Rupp spoke with Channel 8 about the duration of vaccines.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – More and more people are getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Several are wondering if it will be the last time, or the new normal.

Chief of UNMC’s Division of Infectious Diseases Dr. Mark Rupp said it remains to be seen how common getting the vaccine will become.

Pfizer announced this week its vaccine should remain 90% effective for at least six months. Rupp said he is hopeful that we could see even longer lasting results in the future.

“We will continue to have more and more data for longer lasting immunity, whether that’s going to be a year or two years or three years or maybe longer,” Rupp said. “I think it is open for conjecture at this point.”

Rupp said as more and more data becomes available, the better things look for the COVID vaccines. He said he hopes that will translate into fewer booster shots being required down the road. Rupp said, with production increasing and the potential for more vaccines to hit the market, there is a good chance boosters will be available six months from now.

As far as the risk of variants emerging that the vaccine isn’t effective against, Rupp said companies are already working on that.

“The beauty with the mRNA vaccines, at least partly, is that they can be adjusted very, very quickly.”

With an uptick in cases in Nebraska and across the country, Rupp says it’s critical for people to get the vaccine as soon as they can.

He says it’s also important to continue to take steps like washing your hands, wearing a mask and social distancing to keep those numbers down.