John Wherry will explore having an upgraded COVID-19 booster later in the autumn. The immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania is aware that it is too soon after his vaccination in late summer, particularly because he is not at high risk for contracting the virus.
It’s a calculation that many Americans will have to make when booster doses targeting presently circulating Omicron strains become accessible to a population with vastly different degrees of risk and immunity.
Here are some important details:
What makes the new boosters unique?
They are combination or “bivalent” vaccinations containing one-half of the original vaccine used since December 2020 and one-half of the protection against the predominant Omicron strains of today, BA.4 and BA.5. It is the first update approved by the Food and Drug Administration for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Who qualifies?
Pfizer’s and BioNTech’s updated injections are approved for those 12 and older, but Moderna’s version is for those 18 and older. Those who have previously received their main immunization series — utilizing injections from any U.S.-cleared firm — and regardless of how many boosters they’ve had are eligible to get them.
Should I immediately purchase a new kind of booster if I just purchased an original type?
No. The FDA established a minimum waiting period of two months. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is preferable to wait. Some recommend at least three months, while another suggests that a non-high-risk individual may wait up to six months.
Drexel University’s Dr. Sarah Long, a consultant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “If you wait a little longer, the immune response will be stronger.”
A person who has just had a booster has more virus-fighting antibodies in their circulation. Wherry, who was not part in the government’s decision-making process, said that antibodies progressively decrease over time, and a second injection too soon would not provide any more benefit.
What if I recovered from COVID-19 recently?
Even if you’ve already been infected, it’s still necessary to be vaccinated; nevertheless, time is crucial.
The CDC has always advised individuals to delay immunization until they have recovered, but they may also consider waiting three months following recovery before receiving a vaccine. Moreover, according to a number of CDC advisors, the three-month delay is essential for maximizing the potential benefits of the vaccine and minimizing the risk of a rare adverse effect, cardiac inflammation, which occasionally affects teenage boys and young men.
How big of an advantage will the new boosters provide?
This is unclear since human trials of this specific formula have just started.
The FDA approved the new boosters in large part based on human tests of a similarly modified vaccination that was recently approved by European authorities. These modified vaccinations target an earlier strain of the Omicron virus, BA.1, which spread last winter, and tests indicate that they stimulated people’s virus-fighting antibodies.
With the previous Omicron version being replaced by BA.4 and BA.5, the FDA mandated a further modification to the vaccines, and testing on mice shown that they generate an equally effective immune response.
There is no way to determine if antibodies generated by an Omicron-matched booster will persist for more than a few months. However, a booster is also intended to increase immune system memory, so enhancing resistance against severe disease caused by the virus’s constant mutation.
How can we be sure they are safe?
Both revised Omicron-targeting vaccines have the same fundamental components. In human tests, Pfizer and Moderna’s BA.1-targeted variants were shown to be safe, and the CDC’s advisory panel stated that the minor adjustment to the formula should have no effect.
Vaccines against influenza are updated annually without human testing.
Can I have a COVID-19 booster and a flu vaccination simultaneously?
Absolutely, one in each arm.
What if I want to delay?
Those at high risk for COVID-19 are urged to get the new booster when it becomes available. In fact, BA.5 continues to spread rapidly, and hospitalization rates among older persons have risen since spring.
According to the CDC, at least six months have passed since the previous vaccination for the majority of Americans eligible for a booster – a sufficient amount of time for a subsequent vaccination to elicit an effective immune response.
However, the original formulation still provides enough protection against serious sickness and death, particularly after the first, crucial boost. Like Wherry, it is thus typical for younger and healthier individuals to timing boosters to take advantage of a shot’s transient increase in protection against even a moderate illness.
Wherry, a 51-year-old man in good health, said that he delayed the second booster suggested for his age by seven months, until late summer, just before to an overseas vacation that he knew would raise his risk from uncovered crowds.
In four or five months — likely when his antibody level begins to wane and he’s organizing Christmas parties — he intends to see if he might benefit from a second booster injection, now that the new vaccines are being distributed.
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