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UrduRutgers scholar Stanley H. Weiss is available to discuss the trend of people skipping their second dose of COVID-19 vaccines and how this delays herd immunity.
“The second shot leads to a huge boost of the body’s immune protection – neutralizing antibodies increase by about 15-fold, thereby reducing the likelihood of severe disease from COVID-19,” said Weiss, an epidemiologist in infectious and chronic diseases and a professor at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the Rutgers School of Public Health. “The second shot also provides improved protection from the current common viral variants.”
“We need to have a broad program instituted at the state and local levels to actively call or reach out to people to remind them about their appointments and actively follow-up on those who missed their appointments. I believe this will help reduce the numbers of no-shows for the second vaccine shot, and help move us forward to the goal of herd immunity that enables the re-opening of our society.”
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ABOUT RBHS
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) takes an integrated approach to educating students, providing clinical care and conducting research, all with the goal of improving human health. Aligned with Rutgers University–New Brunswick, and collaborating university-wide, RBHS includes eight schools, a behavioral health network and four centers and institutes. RBHS offers an outstanding education in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, public health, nursing, biomedical research and the full spectrum of allied health careers. RBHS clinical and academic facilities are located throughout the state.
