Time to Get Boosted!
Author: Ryan Hassan, M.D., Boost Oregon's medical director and pediatrician working at Oregon Pediatrics in Happy Valley.
CDC recently updated its recommendations for COVID booster shots, advising that anyone over age 50 years and those over age 12 with immunocompromising conditions get a second booster dose at least 4 months after their first booster dose. This recommendation reflects our most current understanding of how immunity to COVID wanes over time, as more infectious variants such as delta and omicron have led to more breakthrough infections in the last year. This is good news that means we now have a means to provide greater protection to those at highest risk for complications from COVID.
However, while many are anxious to get their second boosters as quickly as they can to mitigate unnecessary risk of infection to themselves and others, there are still millions of Americans who have yet to receive their first booster dose. As of this writing, 66% of Americans have completed their primary series of the COVID vaccine, but only 30% have received their first booster dose.
One of the main reasons so few of us have received our booster dose is because we have failed to understand the importance of boosters. It’s true that being vaccinated already provides significant protection against disease, including some long-lasting protection against serious illness, but having a booster dose provides significantly greater protection. This is best illustrated in the below graphs from CDC’s COVID data tracker website. The first shows total number of COVID cases by vaccination and booster status. The second shows the total number of COVID deaths by vaccination and booster status.
The data shows that in February, towards the end of the omicron surge, people who were vaccinated without their booster shot were 2.8 times less likely to get sick, and 10 times less likely to die of COVID, compared to those who were unvaccinated. This is fantastic protection from just the primary vaccination series. However, you can see that, while the numbers were low, there were still vaccinated people getting sick and even dying from COVID. By contrast, people who had been vaccinated AND boosted were 3.1 times less likely to get sick and 20 times less likely to die of COVID than those who were unvaccinated.
The numbers are clear. The best way to protect yourself and those around you is by getting your booster dose. Our cases right now are low, but increasing, and there’s no telling whether or when another more infectious variant might come around and cause another spike in cases. When that time comes, the more of us there are who have gotten all of our COVID vaccines, the less the virus will be able to spread in our communities, and the fewer hospitalizations and deaths we’ll see from the disease.
Many are anxious to know how many more booster doses we might need, and how often. The answer is: we don’t know. It will depend on how long we find that immunity after the first booster doses tends to last, how much we allow COVID to continue to spread, and how infectious and dangerous the next variant is. Science is a process that is ongoing, and science-based recommendations will continue to evolve as our knowledge grows. We do know, though, that the fewer people who are able to contract and spread the virus, the less likely it is that we’ll see a new variant, and the more quickly we’ll be able to safely end the infection control measures of the pandemic.
Some of my patients have asked why they should bother getting a vaccine or a booster if they might not get long term immunity against the virus. Again, the answer is simple: because it reduces your risk of getting yourself and those you love sick right now, and for at least several months. I have to put a seat belt on every single time I get in the car to protect me from injury in a car crash. I don’t decide not to wear my seat belt because I don’t get long term protection from wearing it one time only.
Right now its easier than ever to get your vaccine, so go to www.vaccines.gov to find a vaccine location near you, or just head in to your local pharmacy. Getting vaccinated and boosted is the best way to protect yourself and those you care about from COVID. If you or someone you know has questions about the COVID vaccine, please reach out to us on our website at BoostOregon.org, or speak to your healthcare provider.
