Do I Really Need Another Booster? The Answer Depends On Age, Risk and Timing: NPR

[appalachiablue]

- NPR, March 30, 2022.

The Biden administration has given the go-ahead for another COVID vaccine booster for people aged 50 and older and certain people who are immunocompromised. They can now get another Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech booster at least four months after their last dose. But just because you can get an additional booster, does that mean you need to? Health officials argue that the protection provided by the COVID vaccine booster shots wanes over time. And they are concerned about people considered to be at highest risk of getting severe COVID.

But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn't make it clear how urgently people should be lining up for second boosters. The agency says these groups are "eligible" for the shots but it stopped short of saying they should get them. And some infectious disease experts say not everyone in this age group needs another shot now.

So, if you're wondering whether to get a second booster, here are a few key factors to consider.

Risk of serious illness increases with age
Risk tracks with age, and older people have the highest risk.

A recent study among people 60 and older in Israel found that rates of COVID-19 infection and serious illness were lower in people who had a fourth dose of the Pfizer vaccine compared to three shots.

"We're talking about extra protection from the most serious outcome of COVID," says Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute.

Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, says he personally plans to sign up for a second booster. "I'm 64 and pretty healthy," he says. "But the evidence is clear that six months out from my first booster shot, the effectiveness of that booster has waned considerably." He says another dose will boost his immunity and decrease the probability of infection. "The benefits are very real," Wachter says. But for people under 60 it's less clear a second booster is necessary. "I don't think we have the data for younger people, 50 to even 60," says Dr. Monica Gandhi...

- More, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/03/30/1089503225/2nd-booster-covid-vaccine

[onecaliberal]

1. Already got mine yesterday.

I'm around a lot of people who are unvaxxed at work.