by Yes, older Americans should get another COVID shot — but if you’ve already gotten the latest version, there’s no rush.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that people 65 and older or immunocompromised need a second dose of the new vaccine released in September.
But you have to wait six months after the first dose. This means that next March you will be eligible at the earliest.
Why is the CDC promoting two doses when the first is still being rolled out?
“It’s predictive,” based on infection trends from previous years, said Dr. Jeffrey Silvers of Castro Valley, medical director of pharmacy and infection control at Sutter Health. This is the second year in a row that the CDC has made a biannual recommendation.
Scientists now know that a duo of doses each year is needed to maintain immunity and keep pace with the virus’s mutations, said Silvers, who is an adviser to the California Immunization Coalition, a nonprofit public-private partnership. for-profit that seeks to reduce infectious disease rates.
The annual rollouts in the fall and spring will mark one of the ways we permanently integrate the COVID virus into our daily lives.
In the meantime, if you’ve been delaying the first dose of the updated COVID vaccine for 2024-2025, now is the time. Last year, only 40% of seniors received a dose of a revised vaccine. Willingness to receive two doses was even lower: 8.9% of elderly people and 5.4% of immunocompromised adults received both doses.
Schedule complexity and frequent changes in vaccine recommendations have created confusion and reduced uptake, according to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Certainly, it is difficult to generate enthusiasm for biannual vaccinations. But formalizing a two-dose schedule in the fall and spring is intended to help.
The objective is to put in place a vaccination schedule that protects the most vulnerable populations for the longest period. This is an update of recommendations from last summer, when no additional doses were recommended for older people.
If you’re like many of us, you’ve probably lost track of how many times you’ve been vaccinated.
It’s time to stop counting, experts say. What matters is the date you received an injection. Protection against severe COVID, requiring emergency room care or hospitalization, wears off in four to six months.
Before making your appointment, here are a few things to know.
Question : We don’t need two doses of flu vaccine. Why two doses of COVID every year? Some diseases only require one vaccine in a lifetime.
A: “Stable” viruses that don’t replicate quickly need fewer booster shots because they have long-lasting immunity. For example, we only need a tetanus vaccine once every 10 years. Measles, smallpox and polio require only one injection in a lifetime.
On the other hand, flu and COVID viruses multiply rapidly. This means they have many chances to produce more mutations, which create new variants that evade immune protection.
The flu virus is very seasonal. (If he stayed, this would also require two shots.)
COVID circulates all year round, with peaks in winter and late summer. So we need more frequent protection.
Question : For immunocompromised people, are two doses enough?
A: Not necessarily. CDC experts suggest additional doses – three or more – of the new vaccine in moderately to severely immunocompromised people, in consultation with your doctor.
However, they advise waiting two months between each injection, depending on the patient’s situation.
Question : Will the second dose be the same as the one released in September?
A: Yes. But it is different from the 2023-2024 vaccine.
Question : How is the 2024-2025 vaccine different from last year’s vaccine?
A: The current vaccine more closely targets the JN.1 lineage of the Omicron variant of the virus. The vaccine introduced last fall targeted the XBB.1.5 strain. After this updated vaccine was rolled out last fall, JN.1 emerged with more than 30 new mutations, which worried experts.
Question : Can I mix and match the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines?
A: This is not recommended.
From year to year, there is nothing wrong with obtaining vaccines from different manufacturers. But when getting the second dose in a two-dose series, experts at the Oct. 24 meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended sticking with the same manufacturer. A dose from a different manufacturer may be given if the same vaccine is not available or the previous manufacturer is unknown.
Question : I got sick with COVID during the summer wave. Am I eligible for the 2024-2025 vaccine?
A: Yes, but wait three months after your illness. You still have some protection, so a vaccine is not necessary.
Question : Why is a second dose not recommended for younger people?
A: A second dose will not harm the young person and will be protective. But the CDC is more concerned about hospitalizations and deaths among older adults and people who are immunocompromised because their immunity is weakened.
When we are young, our bodies have a well-adapted protective network against foreign invaders such as the COVID virus. The thymus, which produces T cells that fight infections, reaches its maximum size at puberty and then gradually shrinks.
In older people, there is a decrease in the number, activity and diversity of T cells, a process that scientists call “immunsenescence”. By the age of 50, our T cell production is less than 10% of its peak, so it is more difficult for an older person to clear the virus from their blood. Older people are also more likely to suffer from chronic inflammation of the lungs and other organs.
And younger people tend to recover from the disease. When they’re sick, “younger people, who are otherwise healthy, tend to be a little better able to weather the storm,” Silvers said.
Question : Are we destined for a lifetime of constantly updated COVID vaccines?
A: Not if the research succeeds. Federally funded scientific teams are working to develop a “universal” vaccine that would provide immunity against many virus variants, even versions that don’t yet exist. They hope to do this by targeting a region of the virus that stays the same, even as it mutates.
These targets are generally those that are least accessible to the immune system. This poses a significant challenge for vaccine researchers. But with recent advances in vaccine technology, researchers believe universal vaccines are closer to reality than ever before.
COVID-19 VACCINATION SCHEDULE 2024-2025:
Children aged 6 months to 4 years
• Unvaccinated: expected to receive an initial multidose series with an mRNA vaccine between 2024 and 2025.
• Has already completed an initial series: must receive 1 dose of a 2024-2025 mRNA vaccine from the same manufacturer as the initial series.
People aged 5 to 64:
• Expected to receive 1 dose of COVID-19 vaccine 2024-2025
People aged 65 and over:
• Should receive 2 doses of any COVID-19 vaccine for 2024-2025, spaced 6 months apart.
People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised
• Unvaccinated: complete the initial series, then at least 1 dose of vaccine between 2024 and 2025, with the option of other doses.
• Vaccinated: 2 or more doses of the 2024-2025 mRNA vaccine, spaced 6 months apart. May receive at least 3 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for 2024-2025 through shared clinical decision-making
Source: CDC
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