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Why Give Booster Shot?

© Neal Rolfe Chamberlain

In 1998 a St. Louis Cardinals baseball player named Mark McGuire broke a long-standing home run record by hitting 70 home runs in one season. In over 100 games 70 home runs doesn't seem like a lot. However, to hit a home run quickness, strength, and timing are very important. Pitchers can throw a baseball 80-95 miles per hour. You have to be quick to see and react to the pitch. You also have to time your swing just right. If you swing too fast or too slow the ball won't stay on the field. You also have to be strong enough to force that ball over the fence. Very few people have the timing, strength, and quickness to hit one over the fence one time let alone 70 times in a season.

Timing is also very important when giving people vaccines. As I discussed last week you need to get your children vaccinated very soon after they are born. This is because certain diseases are very deadly to children under 1 year of age (Whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, invasive Haemophilus infections). We vaccinate them early in life to protect them from these life threatening diseases. However, you can't vaccinate them too soon after birth. That is because the infant's blood contains antibodies from their mother. If they are given a vaccine the mother's antibodies eliminate the foreign materials in the vaccine before the babies' immune system can mount an immune response. The babies' immune system must be activated to prevent the child from getting the disease you are vaccinating them against.

Unfortunately, one shot is not enough to protect a person from the disease you are vaccinating against. Whenever a person is vaccinated the person's immune system will activate a certain number of cells called B-cells. These B-cells will multiply and some of them will produce antibodies. Others of these multiplying B-cells will become memory cells. Memory B-cells can last for decades in our bodies and are able to make antibody whenever the microorganism you are vaccinated against infects your body. This first vaccine doesn't get enough of these B-cells activated. Booster shots activate more B-cells. When more B-cells are activated more antibodies are made. More antibody results in better protection from the microorganisms you are vaccinated against. In other words you get a higher (stronger) immune response.

The timing of a booster shot is also important. If you give it too soon then the antibodies present in the blood from the first shot will eliminate the material in the vaccine before you can activate more of those B-cells. Therefore, a waiting period between shots is required to allow time for

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