If a booster vaccine dose introduces a slightly different epitope variant than the original vaccine, which consequence follows regarding immune memory?

💡 Explanation

When a slightly different epitope is introduced by a booster vaccine, memory B cells undergo further affinity maturation to better target the altered antigen, because somatic hypermutation and clonal selection are enhanced, therefore improving the antibody response rather than causing exhaustion, initial antibody production dominance, or innate attenuation.

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