A pharmacist delivers COVID-19 boosters at a Chicago CVS store.
Antonio Perez | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Groups at higher risk of the most serious complications from COVID-19 (primarily those 65 and older) should receive Booster injections this springadvisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
They say another round of vaccines administered in the coming months will provide the best possible protection before the disease is likely to increase again this summer.
Over the past four years, COVID-19 has tended to have winter and summer waves, with cases peaking in January and August respectively, according to the agency. Department of Disease Control.
For that reason, CDC advisers say the approach to COVID-19 vaccination still differs from the strategy used for influenza, which typically only peaks in the winter.
“I hope we’re moving in a more flu-like direction in that there’s a real clear season, but I think we’re We’re not there yet.” Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The panel’s vote to recommend a spring booster for seniors has not yet been finalized before being signed off by CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen. She does not have to follow the committee’s recommendations, but usually does. Health insurance providers need official recommendations from the CDC to cover additional doses.
In healthy older adults, additional doses should be given at least four months after the last dose, or at least Three months after being infected with COVID-19. People with compromised immune systems may need additional shots.
“This gives us a great opportunity to remind people about the importance of vaccination,” said Marvia Jones, director of the Kansas City, Missouri, Department of Health, who did not attend Wednesday’s ACIP meeting. “We are certainly concerned about the vulnerability of this age group when it comes to Covid-19.”
Spring boosters will be the same as before. approved last fall, which was developed for the XBB.1.5 sub-variant.The vaccine is Valid for JN.1 subvariantscurrently causing The vast majority (over 96%) of COVID-19 cases in the United States.
On Wednesday, the advisory committee released new data showing that the shot could reduce the chance of hospitalization from COVID-19 by up to 54% in healthy people aged 65 and older.
The CDC will release more details about the study on Thursday.
COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked in early January, with 35,000 hospitalizations per week. As of February 7, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 had dropped to about 20,000 per week.
The CDC said that throughout last year, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 per week never fell below 6,000. The vast majority are seniors aged 65 and above.
The number of COVID-19 deaths is also declining. Still, at its lowest point last summer, the CDC reported about 500 COVID-19 deaths per week.
A resident receives a Covid-19 booster shot at a vaccine clinic at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA, on Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Hannah Bell | Bloomberg | Getty Images
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