The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering recommending another COVID-19 booster shot this spring, especially for people at higher risk for serious complications of the disease.
A spring booster would be the same vaccine that was approved last fall, which was formulated to target the XBB.1.5 subvariant.
The vaccine is also very effective against the JN.1 subvariant, which is causing almost all COVID-19 infections in the US right now.
While most Americans are unlikely to opt for another dose (only 21.9% of adults have received the latest version of the vaccine), experts say it is critical that it be available as soon as possible.
“I think waiting until the fall is a mistake,” said Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
“We have clear evidence that the vaccine or prior infection probably provides four to six months of relative protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death, but it declines substantially after that.”
Earlier this week, the CDC said it had no immediate plans to lift isolation guidelines for people who test positive for COVID-19.
CDC advisers are expected to vote on whether to recommend a spring Covid booster during a meeting scheduled for February 28, according to a source close to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The panel is expected to focus its discussion on those most vulnerable to COVID-19, including people age 65 and older and anyone with a weakened immune system, such as organ transplant recipients.
“The discussion will be aimed at people who are most accepting of public health recommendations,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
“The committee, with its rigor since the issue arose, will consider a second dose for people at high risk or for people who wish to receive it.”
But even some vulnerable groups who normally strictly follow their doctors’ advice about vaccination are experiencing vaccine fatigue, said Dr. William Werbel, associate director of epidemiology and quantitative sciences at the Johns Hopkins Transplant Research Center in Baltimore.
“Some people have had seven or eight vaccines,” Werbel said. “Transplant recipients would be more receptive and much more likely to follow recommendations, especially if recommended by the transplant center, but the upper limit is somewhat reduced because of this fatigue and social disenchantment with Covid.”
He added that he would recommend a spring booster to his patients if the CDC approves it.
Experts generally recommend waiting at least two months after a COVID-19 vaccine or Covid infection before getting another shot, even for high-risk patients.
Vaccination rates are highest for people 65 and older, at 42%, according to the CDC. Research shows that people who received the last booster vaccine were 54% less likely to be infected with Covid this winter.
That level of protection remained against the strain found in almost all COVID-19 circulation right now: JN.1.
The CDC is not required to follow the advice of its advisory panels, but it typically does.
As of this month, emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have decreased, according to the latest data from the CDC.
“We are lucky that the vaccines are safe,” Werbel said, “certainly much safer than getting Covid.”
2024-02-21 02:30:32
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