booster dose

noun

plural booster doses

: a supplementary dose of a therapeutic agent designed to increase the effectiveness of one or more previously administered doses

I take 162 mg a day, as well as a booster dose of 325 mg (one regular aspirin) once every two weeks instead of my usual dose.

—Andrew Weil

especially : booster shot

Kansas providers are beginning to make plans for distributing thousands of COVID-19 booster doses, with the federal government indicating residents will begin getting those shots starting next month.

—Andrew Bahl

Examples of booster dose in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Earlier today, an advisory committee for the CDC voted overwhelmingly in favor of recommending the spring booster dose. —Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2024

In the spring of 2022, officials authorized a second booster dose after the initial fall rollout. —Akshay Syal, M.d., NBC News, 3 Nov. 2024

And California officials require a booster dose for students entering seventh grade. —Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024

On top of existing vaccine requirements for school-age children, the new rule mandates the vaccine against meningitis, a disease affecting the brain and spinal cord, for students entering seventh grade and a booster dose for eligible students entering 12th grade, according to DHS. —Sarah Volpenhein, Journal Sentinel, 21 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

booster dose

noun

: a supplementary dose of a therapeutic agent designed to increase the effectiveness of one or more previously administered doses

When possible, the drug [prednisone] was administered every other day, with booster doses during hemolytic crises.

—Russell E. Ware et al., The New England Journal of Medicine

especially : booster shot

… vaccines may have to receive a booster dose every five years after the original series.

—Marsha F. Goldsmith, The Journal of the American Medical Association