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It’s that time of year! Time to talk about Covid booster shots, that is. Last year, I ended up getting the bivalent booster and an extra flu shot because of the lag in availability locally. Those were my last shots, but it’s getting to be time for new Covid boosters and flu shots. It’s now an annual tradition, and the Covid vaccine companies will soon roll out their newest booster shots. So when should people schedule their booster appointments? From the New York Times:
Patients keep asking Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, the same question: Is it time to get another Covid shot? The virus is circulating at high levels across the country. That might suggest it’s prime time for another dose of protection. But updated vaccines that target newer variants of the virus are expected to arrive this fall. Experts said the right time for your next Covid shot will depend on your health status and what you’re hoping to get from the vaccines.
If you’re trying to get the most protection against the leading variants: Doctors say that many people may want to wait for the updated vaccines, which have been retooled to better protect against the current dominant strains of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that everyone ages 6 months or older receive an updated shot when they become available.
An upcoming vaccine from the biotechnology company Novavax will target JN.1, a coronavirus variant that accounted for the bulk of cases in the United States this winter. The Pfizer and Moderna shots coming this fall will target KP.2, a newer offshoot of JN.1 that’s been circulating this summer. The variants responsible for the largest share of cases in the United States right now, KP.3 and KP.3.1.1, are closely related to KP.2 and JN.1.
The vaccines that are currently available, by contrast, target older Omicron variants that fizzled out as JN.1 took hold this past winter. That doesn’t mean the current shots are ineffective. But when possible, it’s best to get a vaccine that closely matches the variants that are circulating, said Dr. Nathan Lo, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University who has studied Covid vaccines.
Yeah, it was the same advice as last year – if you’re someone without any major health risks, you should wait until the early autumn to get the latest booster versions. If you have underlying health issues, you can go ahead and get the currently-available boosters (which were mostly for the Omicron variant, but every little bit helps). The doctors in this Times piece also said that while the current summertime Covid variants are concerning, they’re more worried about the winter months, which is why people should get the latest boosters as soon as they can in the fall. And remember to get your flu shots too! I swear, getting annual flu shots was such a game-changer for me.
Photos courtesy of CDC on Unsplash and Getty.
