Columbus Regional Health is prepared to start administering second COVID-19 booster shots for older residents and most people with severely weakened immune systems following the green light from federal and state regulators.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna shots Tuesday for all Americans 50 and older, as well as anyone age 12 and up who have weakened immune systems, if it has been at least four months since their last vaccination.
Following the FDA’s decision, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommended the extra shot, citing evidence that protection from the virus can wane particularly in higher-risk groups.
“This is especially important for those 65 and older and those 50 and older with underlying medical conditions that increase their risk for severe disease from COVID-19 as they are the most likely to benefit from receiving an additional booster dose at this time,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky said in a statement.
CRH does not plan to reopen its emergency standalone clinic near the hospital campus in Columbus and will instead handle vaccinations through its doctors’ offices, said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue. Local residents can also go other community sites, including the Bartholomew County Health Department and local pharmacies.
“Consider your timing, look at your vaccine series, and if you’re getting between that four- to six-month-out range of your last vaccine, whether it was second or third shot or the original one, really consider (getting a booster), especially with this BA.2 (subvariant),” DeClue said. “We’re potentially watching for a surge in May regarding that variant. The high-risk crowd is going to be more susceptible to however that variant plays out.”
The B2.A subvariant is a descendant of omicron but is about 30% more contagious than the original omicron strain. BA.2 is already starting to gain ground in the United States and is believed to be behind a new wave of infections in Europe.
Though officials are anticipating a potential spike in cases in the coming weeks, they do not anticipate a major surge like the one that overwhelmed the local health care system this past winter, DeClue said.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that even if we see a spike here in the late spring, it won’t be anywhere near the severity of the last surge,” DeClue said.
For all the attention on who should get a fourth dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, only about half of Americans eligible for a third shot have gotten one — and the government urged them to get up to date, The Associated Press reported. Two shots plus a booster still offer strong protection against severe illness and death, even during the winter surge of the super-contagious omicron variant.
Just 48% of fully vaccinated Bartholomew County residents have received a booster shot, including about 73% of those ages 65 and up, according to data from the CDC.
Overall, 63% of eligible Bartholomew County residents were fully vaccinated as of Wednesday at 5 a.m., according to the Indiana Department of Health.
While protection against milder infections naturally wanes over time, the immune system builds multiple layers of defense and the type that prevents severe illness and death is holding up, according to wire reports.
During the U.S. omicron wave, two doses were nearly 80% effective against needing a ventilator or death — and a booster pushed that protection to 94%, the CDC recently reported. Vaccine effectiveness was lowest — 74% — in immune-compromised people, the vast majority of whom hadn’t gotten a third dose.
To evaluate an extra booster, U.S. officials looked to Israel, which opened a fourth dose to people 60 and older during the omicron surge, according to the AP. The FDA said no new safety concerns emerged in a review of 700,000 fourth doses administered.
Preliminary data posted online last week suggested some benefit: Israeli researchers counted 92 deaths among more than 328,000 people who got the extra shot, compared to 232 deaths among 234,000 people who skipped the fourth dose.
What’s far from clear is how long any extra benefit from another booster would last, and thus when to get it, according to wire reports.
CRH is urging people interested in the second booster shot to talk with their doctor.
“We really are encouraging people to talk with their doctor,” DeClue said. “…We anticipate kind of a slower uptake from now through the summer months as we get into the fall, depending on what happens with this variant.”
However, the newest booster expansion may not be the last: Next week, the government will hold a public meeting to debate if everyone eventually needs a fourth dose, possibly in the fall, of the original vaccine or an updated shot, according to wire reports.
