Booster vaccination strategy: Necessity, immunization objectives, immunization strategy, and safety

At present, the global COVID-19 epidemic has not been completely controlled, and epidemic prevention and control still face severe challenges. As there is no specific treatment for COVID-19, promoting roll-out vaccinations and building herd immunity are still the most effective and economic measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the neutralizing antibody level in the recipients decreases with time, and the vaccine's protective efficacy gradually weakens. It is still inconclusive whether it is necessary to carry out booster vaccination to strengthen the immune barrier to infection. In this paper, we combined the existing data on the effectiveness and persistence of COVID-19 vaccines. We found that it is necessary to carry out a booster vaccination strategy. However, not all subjects need to receive one more dose of vaccine 6 months after the initial immunization. Priority should be given to the high-risk groups, such as the elderly and people with immunodeficiency. A heterologous booster can induce higher immune responses and enhance immune protection than homologous vaccinations. However, more scientific data and clinical studies are needed to verify the safety of heterologous vaccination strategies.