As the country faces a rise in new infections driven by the omicron BA.5 subvariant of the coronavirus, about 70% of people 50 and older who got a first covid-19 booster shot haven't received the recommended second one, according to the CDC.
Janet Perrin, 70, of Houston hasn’t gotten her second booster for scheduling and convenience reasons and said she’ll look for information about a variant-targeted dose from sources she trusts on social media. “I haven’t found a consistent guiding voice from the CDC,” she said, and the agency’s statements sound like “a political word salad.”to manage the BA.5 subvariant, which it warned would have the greatest impact in the parts of the country with lower vaccine coverage.
“I think that we have all been asking that same question,” said Dr. Kathryn Edwards, scientific director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program. “What’s the benefit of getting another booster now when what will be coming out in the fall is a bivalent vaccine and you will be getting BA.4/5, which is currently circulating? Although whether it will be circulating in the fall is another question.”
People at very high risk for COVID complications might want to go ahead and get a fourth dose, Edwards said, with the hope that it will temporarily prevent severe disease “while you wait for BA.4/5.” Brett-Major said messages about the value of the tailored shots will need to come from trusted, local sources — not just top federal health officials.
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