Since the start of the pandemic, scientists were trying to better comprehend immunity to the novel coronavirus. How long is a person immune following having Covid-19, after getting vaccinated, or both? And what could long-term immunity mean for booster shots?

The current wisdom around potential coronavirus vaccine boosters suggests they may be needed at some stage — but exactly when is unclear, Dr. Peter Marks, manager of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, stated on Thursday during a Covid-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project webinar.

“We’ll have to find out where this all interacts. Is it possible we are going to need a booster at some point? Yes. Is it likely? Yes. Do we know exactly when? No,” Marks said. “But when I needed to look at my crystal ball, it is probably not earlier, hopefully, than a year after being vaccinated, for the average adult.”

And, experts emphasize, anyone who’s fully vaccinated now should nevertheless be safeguarded. But the reason the deadline for possible boosters remains unclear is because scientists still need time to gather the information on how long resistance against Covid-19 may last later on — and how to factor in future variations.

When a individual has”immunity,” generally, which means they’ve protection against an illness. Active immunity can be obtained either through vaccination or disease. Your immune system develops radicals induced by the vaccination or in response to the disease — and either immune reaction may maintain a”memory.”

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Immunity is frequently measured by the existence of carcinogens — proteins made by the immune system to help combat infections, in blood flow. They can usually be determined using a lab test. But immune systems are a lot more than simply antibodies; they involve a host of players including B cells, which create antibodies, and T cells, which target infected cells.