The CDC just announced that even if you got a COVID booster shot in the fall, you should consider getting a springtime booster. The CDC says that data continues to show the importance of vaccination to protect those most at risk for severe outcomes of COVID-19. The CDC says an additional dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine may restore protection that has waned since a fall vaccine dose, providing increased protection to adults ages 65 years and older.
This is not a surprise
The CDC made previous recommendations for seniors to get a Spring booster. The experts at the University of Minnesota remind us:
Like previous recommendations, the next dose would be given at least 4 months after the last dose. People with conditions that compromise their immune system could get their next dose at least 2 months after the last dose.
Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, said ACIP took a very important step today and though it’s not yet clear what the latest advice is for the broader group of immunocompromised people, today’s recommendation for people ages 65 and older still covers the biggest chunk of the at-risk group. CIDRAP publishes CIDRAP News.
In its data for the first weeks of February, the CDC reported more than 1,000 COVID deaths per week, and Osterholm said most of them are likely in seniors. He said predicting what lies ahead with COVID is more challenging and nuanced than flu, because SARS-CoV-2 variants change more often and COVID peaks—nine of them so far—have been tied to the emergence of new variants.
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