Getting COVID shots in same arm might result in stronger immune response

BOSTON - There may be a benefit to getting your COVID shots in the same arm each time.

Researchers at Saarland University in Germany found that getting subsequent vaccines in the same arm generates a stronger immune response than switching between arms.

The team looked at more than 300 individuals who received an initial mRNA COVID vaccine and then a booster. They found that the number of immune cells was significantly higher in those who received the vaccine and booster in the same arm compared to those who got them in different arms. And while the antibody levels were not significantly different, the antibodies generated from shots in the same arm were better able to do their job of neutralizing the virus.

This needs to be studied further before formal recommendations can be made, and it's still not clear if this holds true for other vaccines like the flu shot.

In:
• Health
• COVID-19 Vaccine
• Vaccines

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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