Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines May Protect Against Covid for Years

Many people in Michigan and beyond have been wondering how long the Covid vaccines last.

Well, here's potentially good news.

A study found that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines triggered a persistent immune reaction that may protect against Covid for years, The New York Times reports, citing a study in the journal Nature.

The findings add to growing evidence that most people immunized with the mRNA vaccines may not need boosters, so long as the virus and its variants do not evolve much beyond their current forms — which is not guaranteed. People who recovered from Covid-19 before being vaccinated may not need boosters even if the virus does make a significant transformation.

“It’s a good sign for how durable our immunity is from this vaccine,” said Ali Ellebedy, an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis who led the study, which was published in the journal Nature.

The study did not look at the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Michigan's Covid numbers have continued to decline. On Friday, the state reported 40 new cases, the lowest daily figure in more than a year.