{"id":2578,"date":"2023-09-27T04:47:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T04:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/"},"modified":"2025-02-04T09:15:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T09:15:44","slug":"how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/","title":{"rendered":"How often should people get COVID boosters?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The CDC and FDA have decided that one updated COVID booster is enough for now, in contrast to recommendations from other countries and global health organizations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people in the U.S. who are fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID have been waiting\u2014eagerly in some cases\u2014to receive another layer of protection as they pass the six-month mark after their last booster in fall 2022. But most will have to continue to wait. Late last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upheld its existing COVID vaccination recommendations: the agency says that just one dose of the latest updated booster, often called the bivalent booster, is necessary for now. The Food and Drug Administration has also only authorized the same one-dose booster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This contrasts with official guidance in other countries. In early March Canada and the U.K., for example, began offering an additional booster dose to certain populations at high risk of severe COVID, including elderly people, residents of long-term care facilities and immunocompromised individuals. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends countries consider an additional booster six or 12 months after the last for older adults, those who have comorbidities or who are immunocompromised or pregnant, and frontline health care workers. The WHO also says healthy children from six months to 17 years old may not need any additional boosters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe messaging could get very confusing,\u201d says William Schaffner, a preventive medicine and health policy professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who is a consultant to the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). \u201cOne of the most difficult things I\u2019ve learned during this pandemic is how hard it is for the general public to live with changing recommendations over time. They would like a definitive answer now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This uncertainty has created challenges for both the public and those in the health care field, including members of the ACIP. What do these recommendations mean for people\u2014especially those at high risk of developing severe COVID\u2014who want the extra layer of protection? Scientific American spoke to experts to find out what is and isn\u2019t known about the immunity levels conferred by COVID boosters, what it means to get an additional booster outside the recommendations and what the situation might look like by this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do the current bivalent vaccination rates factor into the new guidance?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bivalent booster now available in the U.S. came out in September 2022. It was formulated to cover the COVID-causing virus\u2019s Omicron strains BA.4 and BA.5 and the original strains from 2020. After an initial wave of people received the booster in the fall and early winter, the rate of vaccinations has dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of fully vaccinated and boosted people would like another booster for additional protection, Schaffner says, but a much larger population has not yet received any booster at all. Only 16.7 percent of the U.S. population (about 55 million people) have had the latest one\u2014far fewer than officials had hoped. \u201cThat\u2019s clearly been a source of considerable disappointment to everyone in public health,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cThe current public health thrust is not to give people an additional booster but to get people to take the first bivalent booster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CDC says it continues to monitor emerging data but maintains its recommendation of one updated COVID vaccine for eligible people aged six months and older. \u201cToo few people, particularly those who are older and at high risk for severe COVID-19, have taken advantage of getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine. And we encourage eligible individuals to speak with their health care provider and consider receiving one,\u201d says CDC representative Kristen Nordlund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists in a vaccine working group within ACIP presented data in February that show vaccination uptake has declined after each official recommendation of an additional dose. The scientists pointed to several factors, including vaccine and COVID \u201cfatigue\u201d and a perception that initial vaccinations have provided enough immunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do we know about the bivalent booster\u2019s effectiveness and immunity levels?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest studies show the bivalent boosters effectively protect against severe disease and death. The CDC reported in February that mortality rates among people who received a bivalent booster were 14 times lower than in those who had never been vaccinated and three times lower than in people who received the original COVID vaccination series but no booster. Other early estimates also indicate the bivalent booster increases protection against two of the latest Omicron strains, XBB and XBB.1.5, for at least the first three months after vaccination in people who had previously received at least two of the past monovalent vaccine doses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, the bivalent shots are especially effective against COVID-associated hospitalization in older adults. But U.S. residents older than age 65 have been getting this booster at lower-than-expected rates\u2014just 42 percent of that population has gotten it\u2014says Carlos del Rio, a clinician and epidemiologist at Emory University. \u201cIf you\u2019re telling me you\u2019re 40 and you have no underlying conditions, it\u2019s probably not an urgency to get another booster,\u201d del Rio says. \u201cBut if you\u2019re over 65, that\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less is known about how long immunity lasts after receiving the bivalent vaccinations. ACIP\u2019s COVID vaccine working group, however, says its information on the original monovalent series and boosters suggests protection against hospitalization starts waning four months after a person receives the dose. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t go to zero,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cAfter a period of months, it might go from 90 percent to 70 percent. So from a population basis, there still is substantial protection out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On an individual basis, however, waning protection gets more complicated\u2014especially in high-risk groups. Studies have demonstrated that monovalent COVID vaccine effectiveness in certain immunocompromised people, particularly organ or stem cell transplant recipients, is lower than in others. \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be appropriate for [high-risk groups] to receive a spring or summer booster if it\u2019s been five or six months since they have received the initial bivalent booster? It\u2019s a perfectly reasonable question,\u201d Schaffner says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protection appears to be restored after people receive additional doses over time, according to ACIP. \u201cWe are seeing very, very low rates\u2014far less than 5 percent\u2014of severe disease in people who are immunocompromised, well vaccinated and receive standard antiviral treatments,\u201d said committee member Camille Kotton, an infectious disease clinician at Massachusetts General Hospital, during February\u2019s ACIP meeting. She added, however, \u201cThere are still many, many immunocompromised [people] who have not taken the opportunity to get the bivalent vaccine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you get another booster if you want one? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some members at the February ACIP meeting urged the FDA and CDC to allow flexibility with vaccine guidance and availability, especially for high-risk populations, as new data come out. ACIP member Michael Hogue, a pharmacy professor at Loma Linda University, suggested during the meeting that people speak with clinicians about this. \u201cWe want those clinicians to be able to make good decisions for the individual patient based upon their comfort and desire, as long as we have safety in mind. And it\u2019s clear that we do in fact have a very safe vaccine with our bivalent vaccine,\u201d Hogue said. \u201cFlexibility just needs to be put into this, in some way, with both older adults and people with immunocompromising conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the latest recommendations, that flexibility doesn\u2019t exist\u2014technically. Some people have managed to \u201cgame the system\u201d and get extra boosters, Schaffner says, noting that \u201cthere\u2019s no vaccine police.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find a \u201cfriendly pharmacist\u201d willing to provide that extra dose, \u201cyou may have to shop around a little bit. Many pharmacies and clinics will not [provide one] because they\u2019re not authorized to do that,\u201d he says. \u201cThat would be operating outside of the emergency use authorization under which the vaccine is currently being made available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who get extra boosters do so at their own risk, and medical treatment for any side effects would not be covered by the government program authorized to provide benefits during the COVID public health emergency. \u201cIf you get a vaccine outside of the current guidelines, you are kind of out there on your own. And if there was a risk, albeit small, you are assuming it on your own,\u201d Schaffner says. ACIP\u2019s working group found that the longer the time between the two doses of the primary series, the lower the risk of myocarditis\u2014heart tissue inflammation that has occurred in a small number of people who received COVID vaccines. But the risk of health problems from any of the COVID vaccines is very low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amira Roess, a global health and epidemiology professor at George Mason University, questions how the one-dose booster guidance could impact vaccine access for some people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat does that mean from a health equity perspective? Well, it means that you have to have a health care provider that you go to regularly\u2014and we already know that there are lots of individuals in this country who don\u2019t have access to high-quality health care,\u201d Roess says. \u201cIf you can\u2019t get the booster from [a local pharmacy], and you\u2019re immune compromised, and you\u2019re not seeing your health care provider regularly, you\u2019re not going to have access to an additional booster, even if you knew you needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Access barriers persist among people experiencing homelessness, those with disabilities and some minority groups. CDC data show that as of April 5, only 9.2 percent of people who identify as Black and 8.8 percent of people who identify as Hispanic or Latino have received the latest booster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can imagine that this gap in equity would be even larger should a second booster also be mandated,\u201d says Jacinda Abdul-Mutakabbir, a clinical pharmacist and assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego. She adds that the end of the federal government\u2019s official COVID public health emergency, set for May 11, will likely make equitable access even more difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the future COVID vaccinations look like? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far all U.S. COVID vaccines and boosters have been government-supported and administered without charge. But along with subsidized treatment, testing and other services, this may change soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis all gets complicated with the ending of the public health emergency, because that would mean vaccines are now going to cost you money,\u201d del Rio says. \u201cThe government still has significant vaccines out there, but I think that\u2019s going to be an issue going forward. I don\u2019t know what the insurance plans are going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schaffner and others say they have heard the FDA is considering an emergency use authorization for a spring or summer booster in high-risk groups. Several news reports also suggest such an announcement may be made in the coming weeks. When asked for comment, the FDA said it continues to monitor emerging data and will base any such decisions on new information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hope that simplifying the COVID-19 vaccine regimen in the not too distant future will lead to the vaccination of more individuals in the coming years as we learn to live alongside SARS-CoV-2\u2014potentially reducing serious outcomes, including hospitalization and death,\u201d wrote an FDA spokesperson in an e-mail to Scientific American.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schaffner says the current CDC and FDA guidance may signal a step away from rolling out COVID boosters every six months and toward an annual vaccination schedule. Many experts anticipate the next booster will be timed with the flu shots in the fall and will likely be an updated formula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuite notably, there are still somewhere on the order of 250 to 300 COVID deaths daily in the United States,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cSo it\u2019s by no means trivial.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The CDC and FDA have decided that one updated COVID booster is enough for now, in contrast to recommendations from other countries and global health organizations Many people in the U.S. who are fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID have been waiting\u2014eagerly in some cases\u2014to receive another layer of protection as they pass the six-month mark after their last booster in fall 2022. But most will have to continue to wait. Late last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upheld its existing COVID vaccination recommendations: the agency says that just one dose of the latest updated booster, often called the bivalent booster, is necessary for now. The Food and Drug Administration has also only authorized the same one-dose booster. This contrasts with official guidance in other countries. In early March Canada and the U.K., for example, began offering an additional booster dose to certain populations at high risk of severe COVID, including elderly people, residents of long-term care facilities and immunocompromised individuals. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends countries consider an additional booster six or 12 months after the last for older adults, those who have comorbidities or who are immunocompromised or pregnant, and frontline health care workers. The WHO also says healthy children from six months to 17 years old may not need any additional boosters. \u201cThe messaging could get very confusing,\u201d says William Schaffner, a preventive medicine and health policy professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who is a consultant to the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). \u201cOne of the most difficult things I\u2019ve learned during this pandemic is how hard it is for the general public to live with changing recommendations over time. They would like a definitive answer now.\u201d This uncertainty has created challenges for both the public and those in the health care field, including members of the ACIP. What do these recommendations mean for people\u2014especially those at high risk of developing severe COVID\u2014who want the extra layer of protection? Scientific American spoke to experts to find out what is and isn\u2019t known about the immunity levels conferred by COVID boosters, what it means to get an additional booster outside the recommendations and what the situation might look like by this fall. How do the current bivalent vaccination rates factor into the new guidance? The bivalent booster now available in the U.S. came out in September 2022. It was formulated to cover the COVID-causing virus\u2019s Omicron strains BA.4 and BA.5 and the original strains from 2020. After an initial wave of people received the booster in the fall and early winter, the rate of vaccinations has dropped. A number of fully vaccinated and boosted people would like another booster for additional protection, Schaffner says, but a much larger population has not yet received any booster at all. Only 16.7 percent of the U.S. population (about 55 million people) have had the latest one\u2014far fewer than officials had hoped. \u201cThat\u2019s clearly been a source of considerable disappointment to everyone in public health,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cThe current public health thrust is not to give people an additional booster but to get people to take the first bivalent booster.\u201d The CDC says it continues to monitor emerging data but maintains its recommendation of one updated COVID vaccine for eligible people aged six months and older. \u201cToo few people, particularly those who are older and at high risk for severe COVID-19, have taken advantage of getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine. And we encourage eligible individuals to speak with their health care provider and consider receiving one,\u201d says CDC representative Kristen Nordlund. Scientists in a vaccine working group within ACIP presented data in February that show vaccination uptake has declined after each official recommendation of an additional dose. The scientists pointed to several factors, including vaccine and COVID \u201cfatigue\u201d and a perception that initial vaccinations have provided enough immunity. What do we know about the bivalent booster\u2019s effectiveness and immunity levels? The latest studies show the bivalent boosters effectively protect against severe disease and death. The CDC reported in February that mortality rates among people who received a bivalent booster were 14 times lower than in those who had never been vaccinated and three times lower than in people who received the original COVID vaccination series but no booster. Other early estimates also indicate the bivalent booster increases protection against two of the latest Omicron strains, XBB and XBB.1.5, for at least the first three months after vaccination in people who had previously received at least two of the past monovalent vaccine doses. Notably, the bivalent shots are especially effective against COVID-associated hospitalization in older adults. But U.S. residents older than age 65 have been getting this booster at lower-than-expected rates\u2014just 42 percent of that population has gotten it\u2014says Carlos del Rio, a clinician and epidemiologist at Emory University. \u201cIf you\u2019re telling me you\u2019re 40 and you have no underlying conditions, it\u2019s probably not an urgency to get another booster,\u201d del Rio says. \u201cBut if you\u2019re over 65, that\u2019s a problem.\u201d Less is known about how long immunity lasts after receiving the bivalent vaccinations. ACIP\u2019s COVID vaccine working group, however, says its information on the original monovalent series and boosters suggests protection against hospitalization starts waning four months after a person receives the dose. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t go to zero,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cAfter a period of months, it might go from 90 percent to 70 percent. So from a population basis, there still is substantial protection out there.\u201d On an individual basis, however, waning protection gets more complicated\u2014especially in high-risk groups. Studies have demonstrated that monovalent COVID vaccine effectiveness in certain immunocompromised people, particularly organ or stem cell transplant recipients, is lower than in others. \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be appropriate for [high-risk groups] to receive a spring or summer booster if it\u2019s been five or six months since they have received the initial bivalent booster? It\u2019s a perfectly reasonable question,\u201d Schaffner says. Protection appears to be restored after people receive additional doses over time, according to ACIP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,1],"tags":[93,94,95,96],"class_list":["post-2578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pag-iwas-rekomendasyon-covid","category-news","tag-booster","tag-covid","tag-who","tag-william-schaffner"],"yoast_head":"\nHow often should people get COVID boosters? - Health Literacy Philippines<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How often should people get COVID boosters? - Health Literacy Philippines\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The CDC and FDA have decided that one updated COVID booster is enough for now, in contrast to recommendations from other countries and global health organizations Many people in the U.S. who are fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID have been waiting\u2014eagerly in some cases\u2014to receive another layer of protection as they pass the six-month mark after their last booster in fall 2022. But most will have to continue to wait. Late last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upheld its existing COVID vaccination recommendations: the agency says that just one dose of the latest updated booster, often called the bivalent booster, is necessary for now. The Food and Drug Administration has also only authorized the same one-dose booster. This contrasts with official guidance in other countries. In early March Canada and the U.K., for example, began offering an additional booster dose to certain populations at high risk of severe COVID, including elderly people, residents of long-term care facilities and immunocompromised individuals. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends countries consider an additional booster six or 12 months after the last for older adults, those who have comorbidities or who are immunocompromised or pregnant, and frontline health care workers. The WHO also says healthy children from six months to 17 years old may not need any additional boosters. \u201cThe messaging could get very confusing,\u201d says William Schaffner, a preventive medicine and health policy professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who is a consultant to the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). \u201cOne of the most difficult things I\u2019ve learned during this pandemic is how hard it is for the general public to live with changing recommendations over time. They would like a definitive answer now.\u201d This uncertainty has created challenges for both the public and those in the health care field, including members of the ACIP. What do these recommendations mean for people\u2014especially those at high risk of developing severe COVID\u2014who want the extra layer of protection? Scientific American spoke to experts to find out what is and isn\u2019t known about the immunity levels conferred by COVID boosters, what it means to get an additional booster outside the recommendations and what the situation might look like by this fall. How do the current bivalent vaccination rates factor into the new guidance? The bivalent booster now available in the U.S. came out in September 2022. It was formulated to cover the COVID-causing virus\u2019s Omicron strains BA.4 and BA.5 and the original strains from 2020. After an initial wave of people received the booster in the fall and early winter, the rate of vaccinations has dropped. A number of fully vaccinated and boosted people would like another booster for additional protection, Schaffner says, but a much larger population has not yet received any booster at all. Only 16.7 percent of the U.S. population (about 55 million people) have had the latest one\u2014far fewer than officials had hoped. \u201cThat\u2019s clearly been a source of considerable disappointment to everyone in public health,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cThe current public health thrust is not to give people an additional booster but to get people to take the first bivalent booster.\u201d The CDC says it continues to monitor emerging data but maintains its recommendation of one updated COVID vaccine for eligible people aged six months and older. \u201cToo few people, particularly those who are older and at high risk for severe COVID-19, have taken advantage of getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine. And we encourage eligible individuals to speak with their health care provider and consider receiving one,\u201d says CDC representative Kristen Nordlund. Scientists in a vaccine working group within ACIP presented data in February that show vaccination uptake has declined after each official recommendation of an additional dose. The scientists pointed to several factors, including vaccine and COVID \u201cfatigue\u201d and a perception that initial vaccinations have provided enough immunity. What do we know about the bivalent booster\u2019s effectiveness and immunity levels? The latest studies show the bivalent boosters effectively protect against severe disease and death. The CDC reported in February that mortality rates among people who received a bivalent booster were 14 times lower than in those who had never been vaccinated and three times lower than in people who received the original COVID vaccination series but no booster. Other early estimates also indicate the bivalent booster increases protection against two of the latest Omicron strains, XBB and XBB.1.5, for at least the first three months after vaccination in people who had previously received at least two of the past monovalent vaccine doses. Notably, the bivalent shots are especially effective against COVID-associated hospitalization in older adults. But U.S. residents older than age 65 have been getting this booster at lower-than-expected rates\u2014just 42 percent of that population has gotten it\u2014says Carlos del Rio, a clinician and epidemiologist at Emory University. \u201cIf you\u2019re telling me you\u2019re 40 and you have no underlying conditions, it\u2019s probably not an urgency to get another booster,\u201d del Rio says. \u201cBut if you\u2019re over 65, that\u2019s a problem.\u201d Less is known about how long immunity lasts after receiving the bivalent vaccinations. ACIP\u2019s COVID vaccine working group, however, says its information on the original monovalent series and boosters suggests protection against hospitalization starts waning four months after a person receives the dose. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t go to zero,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cAfter a period of months, it might go from 90 percent to 70 percent. So from a population basis, there still is substantial protection out there.\u201d On an individual basis, however, waning protection gets more complicated\u2014especially in high-risk groups. Studies have demonstrated that monovalent COVID vaccine effectiveness in certain immunocompromised people, particularly organ or stem cell transplant recipients, is lower than in others. \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be appropriate for [high-risk groups] to receive a spring or summer booster if it\u2019s been five or six months since they have received the initial bivalent booster? It\u2019s a perfectly reasonable question,\u201d Schaffner says. Protection appears to be restored after people receive additional doses over time, according to ACIP.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Health Literacy Philippines\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-27T04:47:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-04T09:15:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/12\/Patient-with-vacine-scaled-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"logesan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"logesan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"logesan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/#\/schema\/person\/64322187f953005b9119221a7cbd9715\"},\"headline\":\"How often should people get COVID boosters?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-27T04:47:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-04T09:15:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/\"},\"wordCount\":1941,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/12\/Patient-with-vacine-scaled-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Booster\",\"COVID\",\"WHO\",\"William Schaffner\"],\"articleSection\":[\"COVID Prevention\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/\",\"name\":\"How often should people get COVID boosters? 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- Health Literacy Philippines","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How often should people get COVID boosters? - Health Literacy Philippines","og_description":"The CDC and FDA have decided that one updated COVID booster is enough for now, in contrast to recommendations from other countries and global health organizations Many people in the U.S. who are fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID have been waiting\u2014eagerly in some cases\u2014to receive another layer of protection as they pass the six-month mark after their last booster in fall 2022. But most will have to continue to wait. Late last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upheld its existing COVID vaccination recommendations: the agency says that just one dose of the latest updated booster, often called the bivalent booster, is necessary for now. The Food and Drug Administration has also only authorized the same one-dose booster. This contrasts with official guidance in other countries. In early March Canada and the U.K., for example, began offering an additional booster dose to certain populations at high risk of severe COVID, including elderly people, residents of long-term care facilities and immunocompromised individuals. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends countries consider an additional booster six or 12 months after the last for older adults, those who have comorbidities or who are immunocompromised or pregnant, and frontline health care workers. The WHO also says healthy children from six months to 17 years old may not need any additional boosters. \u201cThe messaging could get very confusing,\u201d says William Schaffner, a preventive medicine and health policy professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who is a consultant to the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). \u201cOne of the most difficult things I\u2019ve learned during this pandemic is how hard it is for the general public to live with changing recommendations over time. They would like a definitive answer now.\u201d This uncertainty has created challenges for both the public and those in the health care field, including members of the ACIP. What do these recommendations mean for people\u2014especially those at high risk of developing severe COVID\u2014who want the extra layer of protection? Scientific American spoke to experts to find out what is and isn\u2019t known about the immunity levels conferred by COVID boosters, what it means to get an additional booster outside the recommendations and what the situation might look like by this fall. How do the current bivalent vaccination rates factor into the new guidance? The bivalent booster now available in the U.S. came out in September 2022. It was formulated to cover the COVID-causing virus\u2019s Omicron strains BA.4 and BA.5 and the original strains from 2020. After an initial wave of people received the booster in the fall and early winter, the rate of vaccinations has dropped. A number of fully vaccinated and boosted people would like another booster for additional protection, Schaffner says, but a much larger population has not yet received any booster at all. Only 16.7 percent of the U.S. population (about 55 million people) have had the latest one\u2014far fewer than officials had hoped. \u201cThat\u2019s clearly been a source of considerable disappointment to everyone in public health,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cThe current public health thrust is not to give people an additional booster but to get people to take the first bivalent booster.\u201d The CDC says it continues to monitor emerging data but maintains its recommendation of one updated COVID vaccine for eligible people aged six months and older. \u201cToo few people, particularly those who are older and at high risk for severe COVID-19, have taken advantage of getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine. And we encourage eligible individuals to speak with their health care provider and consider receiving one,\u201d says CDC representative Kristen Nordlund. Scientists in a vaccine working group within ACIP presented data in February that show vaccination uptake has declined after each official recommendation of an additional dose. The scientists pointed to several factors, including vaccine and COVID \u201cfatigue\u201d and a perception that initial vaccinations have provided enough immunity. What do we know about the bivalent booster\u2019s effectiveness and immunity levels? The latest studies show the bivalent boosters effectively protect against severe disease and death. The CDC reported in February that mortality rates among people who received a bivalent booster were 14 times lower than in those who had never been vaccinated and three times lower than in people who received the original COVID vaccination series but no booster. Other early estimates also indicate the bivalent booster increases protection against two of the latest Omicron strains, XBB and XBB.1.5, for at least the first three months after vaccination in people who had previously received at least two of the past monovalent vaccine doses. Notably, the bivalent shots are especially effective against COVID-associated hospitalization in older adults. But U.S. residents older than age 65 have been getting this booster at lower-than-expected rates\u2014just 42 percent of that population has gotten it\u2014says Carlos del Rio, a clinician and epidemiologist at Emory University. \u201cIf you\u2019re telling me you\u2019re 40 and you have no underlying conditions, it\u2019s probably not an urgency to get another booster,\u201d del Rio says. \u201cBut if you\u2019re over 65, that\u2019s a problem.\u201d Less is known about how long immunity lasts after receiving the bivalent vaccinations. ACIP\u2019s COVID vaccine working group, however, says its information on the original monovalent series and boosters suggests protection against hospitalization starts waning four months after a person receives the dose. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t go to zero,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cAfter a period of months, it might go from 90 percent to 70 percent. So from a population basis, there still is substantial protection out there.\u201d On an individual basis, however, waning protection gets more complicated\u2014especially in high-risk groups. Studies have demonstrated that monovalent COVID vaccine effectiveness in certain immunocompromised people, particularly organ or stem cell transplant recipients, is lower than in others. \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be appropriate for [high-risk groups] to receive a spring or summer booster if it\u2019s been five or six months since they have received the initial bivalent booster? It\u2019s a perfectly reasonable question,\u201d Schaffner says. Protection appears to be restored after people receive additional doses over time, according to ACIP.","og_url":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/","og_site_name":"Health Literacy Philippines","article_published_time":"2023-09-27T04:47:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-04T09:15:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/12\/Patient-with-vacine-scaled-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"logesan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"logesan","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/"},"author":{"name":"logesan","@id":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/#\/schema\/person\/64322187f953005b9119221a7cbd9715"},"headline":"How often should people get COVID boosters?","datePublished":"2023-09-27T04:47:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-04T09:15:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/"},"wordCount":1941,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/12\/Patient-with-vacine-scaled-1.jpg","keywords":["Booster","COVID","WHO","William Schaffner"],"articleSection":["COVID Prevention","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/","url":"https:\/\/healthliteracyasia.com\/ph\/2023\/09\/27\/how-often-should-people-get-covid-boosters\/","name":"How often should people get COVID boosters? 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