The CDC recommends updated COVID boosters for people over the age of 12.
The reformulated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are available at clinics and doctors' offices throughout the country.
Most of the current infections are caused by the original strain of the coronaviruses and the two omicron subvariants. The vaccines have become less effective against new versions.
The infectious disease specialist at Oregon Health & Science University says that the virus has been changing quickly. "I feel like we've been playing catch up and finally we have caught up."
Anyone over the age of 12 can get Pfizer's booster.
The director of the CDC told NPR that there is no bad time to get your booster. She encourages you to get it.
After talking to infectious disease experts, we found a lot of differing opinions on when and who should be boosted. Here are some things to think about if you are making a decision.
Monica Gandhi is an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco. People in these groups are at higher risk.
Some vaccine experts say it would be better for people to wait at least four months after receiving their last vaccine to be eligible.
Physician Bob Wachter says he will get it. I'm close to shot number four. Wachter says that his immunity has waned a lot. He plans to get an updated booster as soon as it's available as a hedge against serious infections, given the number of deaths per day caused by COVID.
He says that getting a booster increases the chance of having a benign case.
The CDC recommends that young adults get the booster. If there's another surge, boosting can help protect the community and reduce transmission.
There are good reasons to get it, even for people with a low chance of a serious illness.
It's a good idea to wait if you've had a recent COVID infections.
She says she won't get boosted until November because she had mild infections in August.
We will be protected against COVID for a few months. She says it makes sense to wait and get the updated booster about three months after the positive test.
The CDC vaccine advisers recommend that people who have recently had COVID-19 delay their booster shot by three months. The country's top infectious disease expert plans to do that. Fauci will wait three months before getting his booster after he tested positive.
The new booster will be given to both teenagers so they can avoid sick days from work and school.
There will be another surge of COVID this winter. Some people plan to wait to get a new booster in order to have the best protection when the risk of infections increases. Wachter suggests waiting until case rates are higher.
There will be more cases in December and January than there are in September and October.
This strategy is similar to trying to time the stock market. There is a risk in waiting because it is hard to know when the surge will occur.
He says that you don't need to have a period of vulnerability. My thinking is that I wouldn't do that.
It is argued that the protection from a booster shot is not instantaneous. It takes a few weeks for our immune systems to be primed. He thinks it's risky to wait until the surge starts.
There are a few ways in which the vaccines can affect our immune system. Immune cells, also known as B cells, help fight offviruses in the short term. The research shows that the vaccines boost the immune system for a long time. B cells and T cells, two types of immune cells, stick around to build immunity after that.
The deeper immunity was triggered by the initial vaccines, so everyone who's been vaccined should have some protection against Covid. The new booster will give you higher levels of antibodies which are short term and short lived. He says it may give more deep-seated immunity.
It is not possible to say yes. The updated boosters are not a magic bullet.
Despite widespread vaccine in the U.S., delta and omicron led to a large surge in the number of infections.
Paul Offit is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He doesn't see a benefit in giving the new boosters to everyone because many people who've already received three doses are well protected.
People who have had one or two boosters have a small chance of being hospitalized. The rate is even lower for people under 50.
The new booster should be given to elderly adults, people who are immunocompromised, and people with chronic conditions that put them at higher risk of serious illness. He wonders if another booster is worth it for young people.
Offit says he had an illness in May. He isn't going to get the new booster. I think I'm protected against diseases.
He says there's no evidence of benefit beyond a few months of protection against infections.
Rob Stein and Jane Greenhalgh were involved.
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