![]() ![]() In the fall, “the monovalent vaccine that will likely be recommended should be a better match to the circulating variants,” he said. “Does it really make sense to have him get an extra vaccination now? It really doesn’t,” he said. He cited a hypothetical case of a completely healthy 25-year-old man who has had three shots and had COVID-19 twice already. But for younger, healthy adults, he said, the first bivalent shot may not be needed. Like Hamer, he said he would recommend a first bivalent shot for those at high risk of severe disease, such as older people or those with comorbidities. ![]() Paul Sax, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said people who’ve gotten the first bivalent booster don’t need a second one “unless they’re over 80, medically fragile, or immunocompromised.” Hamer also said that many people who have gotten their original shots and boosters don’t even need the first bivalent shot, “although the exception would be those who are at high risk based on advanced age, serious underlying immunocompromising conditions, etc.”ĭr. “It makes sense to get this vaccine closer to the time there’s actually an outbreak.” “I favor having my patients wait until either the new booster is available and/or there is a new wave of SARS-CoV-2,” he said by email. David Hamer, a professor of global health and medicine at Boston University, said that he didn’t think that people who got the first bivalent shot needed to get the second. Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax have said that updated vaccines could be developed and manufactured in time for a rollout in the fall.ĭr. They pointed, among other things, to the current low levels of the pandemic, widespread immunity in the population, and the arrival of what’s expected to be a better vaccine, possibly as soon as September.įederal regulators last month advised vaccine manufacturers to reformulate their COVID-19 shots to target an Omicron subvariant to provide the best protection as the weather turns colder and more people gather indoors. ![]() Other experts said their current advice on booster shots would vary from the CDC’s. If you have a cough or a cold or are going to be around someone with a cough or a cold, or are in a crowded public place, “slip on a mask,” he said.) (While on the topic of avoiding COVID-19, he noted that “everybody’s tired of masks,” but they continue to be useful. we’re going to have an uptick in infections so it’s good to get vaccinated before that time comes,” he said. While it’s steamy outside now, “as soon as the weather gets chilly and people start moving indoors. You may get sick, he said, but “you’re going to be alive to work and play next week.” “It’s important to remind people that even though you can get a respiratory infection, the big thing about the COVID-19 vaccines is they keep you out of the hospital and they keep you alive,” he said. And he suggested that people 65 and older and people who are immunocompromised sign up for their additional bivalent shots. Philip Landrigan, director of Boston College’s Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good, said people should follow the CDC guidelines. People who are 65 and older can also get a second bivalent shot, and people who are immunocompromised can receive even more, according to the CDC.Ĭhildren from 6 months to 5 years old should get at least one bivalent shot, and maybe more depending on the number of original shots they’ve received previously, the vaccine types, and their age, the CDC said.ĭr. Nationally, about 17 percent of people have gotten the bivalent shots, the CDC says. That’s about 30 percent of the state’s population of about 7 million. 1, 2022, nearly all of which were the bivalent shots. In Massachusetts, the state Department of Public Health says about 2.1 million people got boosters after Sept. ![]() The CDC recommends that everyone get the bivalent shot, which was first offered to people in September, “regardless of whether they previously completed their primary series.” The original shots and boosters from Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson are no longer even authorized. There’s no need to play catch-up before you get the bivalent shot. It doesn’t matter how many shots you received so far. It’s as simple as that.įorget about what type of vaccine you got previously. The CDC says that everyone ages 6 and up should get an updated, bivalent booster vaccine. ![]()
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