Global Courant 2023-04-20 03:28:25
Another COVID-19 booster is on the way as federal health officials look to further improve protections for those at greater risk of developing serious illness.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday recommended granting an additional updated booster for seniors age 65 and older, as well as those who are immunocompromised. The updated booster was first introduced last September.
This new phase of the years-long vaccination campaign is eagerly awaited in some quarters, especially given that injection-induced protection wears off over time and many higher-risk individuals are months away from their last dose.
However, the next chapter will also come when the pandemic has stabilized. Like the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recently noticed“While transmission is still occurring, there is little concern about a rapid spread of the virus.”
But COVID-19 remains a force to be reckoned with, even as the dark days of overcrowded hospitals and overcrowded morgues seem to be over. Since the beginning of October, more than 72,000 people in the US have died from COVID-19 — nearly four times the estimated death toll from the flu during the same period.
“COVID-19 remains a very real risk for many people, and we encourage individuals to consider staying up-to-date with vaccination, including with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr Peter Marks, head of vaccine at the US Food and Drug Administration. in a statement.
Here’s what you need to know:
Who else can get a booster?
Those who are at least 65 years old can still receive a dose, according to the GGD.
Immunocompromised individuals are also eligible.
“This gives health care providers more flexibility to administer additional doses to immunocompromised patients as needed,” the CDC said.
Should the elderly get it?
The CDC said it recommends allowing the additional updated booster shot, which will provide “greater flexibility for those at higher risk who want the option of additional protection from additional COVID-19 doses.” In other words, seniors and immunocompromised people eager for the extra booster are free to get it, but the CDC isn’t necessarily urging those groups to get the shot with the same urgency it did last fall.
Some experts suggest that older patients get the extra booster.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert from UC San Francisco, said, “The older you are, the more important it is.”
“The bottom line is that I would recommend they get it if you’re over 65,” he said. “We know that antibodies decrease after three to four months (after an injection), and they decrease most in those who are older than 65.”
What about everyone else?
Apart from the groups above, most people who have already received the updated bivalent booster are not eligible for another dose. Those who haven’t, however, are free to roll up their sleeves.
The CDC recommended that everyone age 6 and older get the updated COVID-19 shot — whether or not they completed their primary vaccination course. That means if you haven’t gotten a COVID-19 booster since September or if you haven’t been vaccinated, the CDC recommends getting the updated vaccination now.
“For young children, multiple doses will be recommended and will vary by age, vaccine, and which vaccines have previously been received,” the CDC said.
Wednesday’s move means people getting vaccinated for the first time only need one dose of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna doses to be considered up-to-date for their COVID-19 vaccinations. Officials said they are ending the original two-dose monovalent regimens, which are now considered obsolete. The monovalent regimens — or the original versions of the vaccine formula — were designed against the ancestral version of the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, the FDA approved the following updated vaccine regimens for children under age 6:
Unvaccinated children 6 months to 5 years of age can receive a series of two doses of the bivalent Moderna vaccine, or, for children 6 months through 4 years of age, three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech offering. Children 5 years old can receive two doses of Moderna or one Pfizer-BioNTech injection. Children up to age 5 who are fully or partially vaccinated can also receive a bivalent booster, “but the number of doses they receive will depend on the vaccine and their vaccination history,” the FDA said.
How can I get a booster?
Eligible Californians can book an appointment directly through their healthcare provider or through the state’s online platform: MyTurn.ca.gov.
Are there costs?
Vaccines remain free even after recent moves to lift COVID-19 emergency declarations at both the state and federal levels.
Why should I get a booster?
Many health officials and experts say those who receive the bivalent booster shot are better protected against hospitalization and death, with the benefit particularly pronounced in older individuals.
“Available data continues to show that vaccines prevent the most serious consequences of COVID-19, namely severe illness, hospitalization and death,” said Marks.
COVID-19 is still the leading infectious cause of death in LA County and can be especially dangerous for older people who are not up to date on their vaccinations and boosters, even if they have previously been infected and recovered. For the most recent weekly available, 59 COVID-19 deaths were reported nationwide.
According to a recent analysis, among seniors ages 65 to 79 in LA County, those who received the updated booster had one-tenth the risk of being hospitalized compared to those not vaccinated, and about half the risk of hospitalized compared to those who were vaccinated but did not receive the bivalent booster.
Among this age group, those who received the updated booster were about one-tenth as likely to die from COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated people — and about half as likely to die compared to vaccinated people who received the updated booster had not received.
While no health intervention offers absolute protection against infection, experts say vaccination offers some benefit in that regard. That could be helpful given the emergence of another coronavirus Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.16, which some experts say may be likely to see cases rise again in the coming months. There are anecdotes from India suggesting that this strain is the cause of a number of reports of “COVID eye” – also known as pink eye or conjunctivitis – especially in children.
Still, the latest subvariant has not been associated with an increased risk of serious disease.
What is a bivalent vaccine?
The bivalent shots are updated versions of the original COVID-19 vaccine shots that first became widely available in September.
Regardless of brand, the bivalent booster is formulated to protect against the hyper-infectious family of Omicron coronavirus subvariants that have dominated the country for more than a year.
They were designed with BA.4 and BA.5 in mind, as those sibling sub-variants came to prominence last spring and summer. But officials say they continue to work well against strains that emerged later, such as XBB and XBB.1.5.
The original formulations of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were designed only against the ancestral version of the coronavirus, rather than the highly mutated versions circulating today.
“At this stage of the pandemic, data is supportive of simplifying the use of the authorized mRNA bivalent COVID-19 vaccines, and the agency believes this approach will help encourage future vaccination,” said Marks.
What will the question be?
Don’t expect anything like the early days of vaccine rollouts — when people braved long lines or hit the road in a desperate search for shots.
According to the California Department of Public Health, only about one-fourth of eligible residents got one bivalent booster in the seven months since they became available.
However, that number contradicts the regional differences that existed during the vaccination campaign. A recent Times data analysis found that by the end of March, nearly 35% of eligible residents in the San Francisco Bay Area had received the bivalent booster, compared to 23% in Southern California and just 16% in the San Joaquin Valley .
Some health officials have also expressed concern about relatively low uptake among seniors. Statewide, just under 46% of those over 65 who have been vaccinated have also received a bivalent booster. In LA provincethe share is 42%.
In a recent statement to The Times, California Department of Public Health officials said they support federal recommendations “for everyone to get bivalent boosters, especially those more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 due to advanced age or medical conditions, which continue to be with an increased risk of hospitalization or death if left unstimulated.
“The level of acceptance of future vaccine doses remains to be seen,” the statement continued. “CDPH remains concerned that Californians who have not received recommended doses now or in the future will suffer unnecessarily from severe COVID-19 or prolonged COVID.”
