Americans 50 and older who are four months post-booster shot received the green light last week for COVID booster No. 2. An unexpected age drop combined with a receding threat of infection have some people in the approved group asking questions before rolling up their sleeves for a fourth time.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations cover the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines and include authorization for additional doses in certain immunocompromised populations.
A newly launched COVID.gov offers a portal to sign up
for vaccine appointments at pharmacies and clinics
across the country as well as updated information on
accessing treatments, testing and high-quality masks.
“First of all, make sure you’re vaccinated and boosted,” Lisa Miller, MD, MSPH, of the Colorado School of Public Health (ColoradoSPH), said before answering questions about the new move. “We don’t want to lose sight of that message.”
Half of the American population still does not have a first booster dose. And in Colorado, more than a quarter of the high-risk, 65-and-older population still lack that third dose, Miller said. “Those people are really putting themselves at risk,” she said, as the first booster dose dramatically improves survivability over the initial two-dose series. “That’s where we are really going to lose people.”
COVID-19 and campus: more information.
Ross Kedl, PhD, professor of immunology & microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, joined Miller in answering top questions they and other experts are hearing about the new recommendation.