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NEW YORK — Older Americans should get another COVID-19 vaccination, even if they get a booster shot in the fall, U.S. health officials said Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Americans 65 and older should get another shot of the latest vaccine, which became available in September, if at least four months have passed since their last shot. Ta. In making this recommendation, the agency supported guidance proposed earlier in the day by an expert advisory panel.
“Most deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 last year were in people 65 and older,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement. “The additional doses of the vaccine will provide additional protection to those most at risk. will be obtained,” he said.
The advisory committee’s decision came after a lengthy debate over whether to say older adults “may” or “should” get vaccinated. This reflects debate among experts over how many more boosters are needed and whether further recommendations would further increase public vaccine fatigue.
Some doctors say most older adults are well protected with fall shots, which build on immunity from previous vaccinations and exposure to the virus itself. Preliminary studies so far have not shown that the vaccine’s effectiveness diminishes significantly beyond six months.
However, the body’s defenses caused by vaccines tend to wear off over time, and this happens sooner in older people than in other adults. The committee had recommended booster vaccinations against COVID-19 for older adults in 2022 and 2023.
COVID-19 remains dangerous, especially for older adults and people with underlying health conditions. The coronavirus continues to cause more than 20,000 hospitalizations and more than 2,000 deaths each week, according to the CDC. And those over 65 have the highest hospitalization and death rates.
Some members of the advisory committee said the “should” recommendations were intended to give doctors and pharmacists a clearer push to recommend vaccinations.
“Most people are coming in either wanting the vaccine or not wanting the vaccine,” said Dr. Jamie Lauer, a commissioner and family physician in Ithaca, New York. “We’re trying to make it easier for providers to say, ‘Yes, we recommend this.'”
In September, the government recommended a new COVID-19 shot recipe built against a version of the coronavirus called XBB.1.5. This single-target vaccine was replaced by a combination vaccine that targeted both the original coronavirus strain and the much earlier Omicron type.
The CDC is recommending the new vaccine for everyone over 6 months of age and allowing people with weakened immune systems to receive a second dose within two months of the first dose.
Most Americans aren’t listening. According to the latest data from the CDC, 13% of U.S. children have been vaccinated and about 22% of U.S. adults have been vaccinated. Vaccination rates among adults 65 and older are high at nearly 42%.
“Every time we get a vaccine, uptake has gone down,” said Dr. David Canady, an infectious disease expert at Case Western Reserve University who studies COVID-19 infections in older adults.
“People are tired of getting these shots all the time,” said Cannady, who does not serve on the committee. “We need to be careful about over-recommending vaccines.”
But Dr. William Schaffner, a vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University who serves on the committee’s working group continuing the discussion, said some Americans, people at higher risk of severe illness or death, should get a booster shot. He is asking if this will be allowed. Booster question.
In fact, the group’s biggest concern about vaccines is whether they are effective enough, according to CDC survey data.
Agency officials say 50% fewer people who have been vaccinated with the latest version of the coronavirus vaccine become ill after coming into contact with the virus than those who were not vaccinated in the fall.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Education Media Group.
