CDC urges older Americans to get Covid booster shots as hospitalizations soar again

Shana Alesi administers a second COVID-19 booster shot to Army veteran Robert Hall at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital on April 01, 2022 in Hines, Illinois.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week urged older Americans to get a Covid booster shot to increase their protection against the virus.

Over the past few weeks we have seen a steep and substantial increase in hospitalizations for older Americans, according to the director of the CDC.

In the past six months, just over half of people ages 65 and older have received a vaccine dose, and less than a third of people 50 to 64 have done so.

About 60 percent of older Americans don't have the protection they need to prevent disease.

People 50 and older should get a fourth Covid shot, and people with weak immune systems should get a fifth shot, according to Walensky. The CDC said in March that people in those groups could get second Moderna and Pfizer booster doses. The public health agency told people to get the shots for added protection during the current Covid wave.

According to the CDC, hospitalizations have increased 25% among those 70 and older over the past week, with more than 1,500 people in the age group admitted with Covid per day on average. More Covid infections are being reported in the U.S., with an 18% increase over the week prior.

According to data presented at a CDC committee meeting in April, two doses of Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines are 50% effective at preventing emergency department and urgent care visits due to omicron infections in people 50 and older. A third dose increases that protection to more than 75%.

The CDC and the FDA authorized second boosters for older Americans based on data from Israel. A fourth dose of Covid reduced the death rate from the drug in people older than 60 years old, according to scientists in Israel. Clalit Health Services, Israel's largest health-care provider, examined the health record of more than 500,000 people from January through February.

The fourth booster dose may reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in older people, according to the FDA.

We hope that by taking this action, we will allow people to take steps to protect themselves should another wave come through this country.