| Health
|
[
Health ] [ Main Menu ] |
|
|
|
14890 |
|
|
Date: August 20, 2024 at 14:20:14
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
URL: https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/4833237-should-you-get-a-covid-shot-now-or-wait-for-the-updated-booster/ |
|
Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster?
by Pete Zimmerman and Alix Martichoux - 08/20/24 4:39 PM ET
(WGN Radio) – With more than half of U.S. states detecting “very high” levels of the COVID virus in their wastewater, you may be feeling like it’s about time to get a booster shot. But the current state of things leaves cautious Americans in a tough position: get boosted now amid summer travel plans and widespread infections, or hold out just a bit longer for an updated version of the vaccine?
Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, chief medical officer for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, weighed the pros and cons in a recent interview with WGN Radio.
The first things to consider are your personal health condition and your age, Kopin said. If you’re 75 or older, or have other health conditions that would make a COVID infection more serious, that could tip the scales toward getting a booster now.
But even if you’re perfectly healthy, you may still want to get a vaccine sooner if you’re about to embark on a big international trip, or otherwise greatly increase your exposure.
“If our friend wants to get vaccinated a week or two before going on the trip,” Kopin said hypothetically, “there probably is a decrease in likelihood of getting infected with COVID should our friend be exposed to COVID – maybe as much as 50% decrease in likelihood if the vaccine has been given a week or two before leaving for Europe.”
The timing is key, Kopin explained, because right after you’re vaccinated, the antibodies that fight COVID become abundant in your body.
“That time period, that’s where the antibodies that would attack the virus from attaching to the cells in that person’s body would be at their highest levels, and that can help decrease in the likelihood of getting infected.”
If Noah Lyles had COVID, why was he allowed to compete in Paris Olympics?
The vaccine can help prevent you from getting infected, he said, but it’s a short window. After a few weeks, the vaccine is still very effective at preventing serious illness, but it isn’t as good at preventing infection outright.
An updated COVID booster, designed to target the KP.2 strain, is expected to be released as soon as next month, though the exact timing isn’t yet known. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends most people get it with the annual flu shot in September or October.
Last year, people who got the updated formula (instead of just relying on older vaccination) were more likely to stay healthy and out of the hospital, the CDC says.
Ultimately, whether you get a shot now or wait another month or two is a personal decision, Kopin said. It comes down to how concerned you are about getting sick now, and how serious it would be if you got sick.
“For our older friends, and that seems to be over 75, or people who have chronic diseases – particularly those diseases that would leave somebody in an immunocompromised state … those folks need to really stay up to date on the vaccines and be careful. But if you’re younger and you’re otherwise healthy, by now in August 2024, essentially all of us have plenty of immunity to COVID and it’s extremely unlikely that we’ll get very ill if we get infected with the virus.”
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
[14900] [14893] [14895] [14896] [14903] [14907] [14906] [14943] [14945] [14946] [14947] |
|
14900 |
|
|
Date: August 25, 2024 at 18:55:13
From: The Hierophant, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
|
|
Am hoping that it comes out in the next 2-3 weeks-
am going in for a hip replacement 3rd week of Oct, and if
I get the regular one now, I wouldn't be able to get the
updated one until January... but
if it doesn't come out in the next 2-3 weeks, I will get
the regular vaccine.
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
None |
|
14893 |
|
|
Date: August 22, 2024 at 11:18:43
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
URL: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4841888-fda-moderna-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-coronavirus/ |
|
FDA approves this season’s Moderna, Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines
by Joseph Choi - 08/22/24 2:00 PM ET
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Thursday the approval of both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccines for the 2024-2025 respiratory viral season.
The updated vaccines are designed to target the KP.2 strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
“Based on the further evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and a rise in cases of COVID-19, the agency subsequently determined and advised manufacturers that the preferred JN.1-lineage for the COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) is the KP.2 strain, if feasible,” the agency said in its announcement.
“Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.
The vaccines are approved for people 12 years old and older.
“COVID-19 remains a significant health risk and is the leading cause of respiratory illness-related hospitalization, regardless of age or health condition. In the 2023-24 season, we saw more than 600,000 hospitalizations due to COVID in the U.S. Staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccine remains one of the best ways for people to be protected and prevent severe illness,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said.
The Hill has reached out to Pfizer for comment.
Emergency use authorization has been granted for three doses of the updated Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine or two doses of the Moderna vaccine to be administered to unvaccinated children aged between six months and 4 years of age. Children in this same cohort who’ve previously been vaccinated can receive one or two doses of either updated vaccine.
Children between 5 and 11 can receive one dose of either updated vaccine regardless of prior vaccination status. If they’ve previously been vaccinated, the FDA advised that they wait at least two months before getting the updated shots.
Moderna said it expects its updated vaccine to be available in the “coming days.” This approval comes while the U.S. is in the midst of a summer surge in cases. All U.S. regions monitored by the Department of Health and Human Services are currently reporting COVID-19 test positivity rates of 10 percent or higher.
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
[14895] [14896] [14903] [14907] [14906] [14943] [14945] [14946] [14947] |
|
14895 |
|
|
Date: August 22, 2024 at 11:58:36
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
|
|
I'm going to wait for the updated booster. We were told
by the VA that we are only a few weeks away from that
being available.
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
[14896] [14903] [14907] [14906] [14943] [14945] [14946] [14947] |
|
14896 |
|
|
Date: August 22, 2024 at 18:14:58
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
[14903] [14907] [14906] [14943] [14945] [14946] [14947] |
|
14903 |
|
|
Date: August 27, 2024 at 12:39:23
From: Rodney Boulderfield, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
|
|
How about NEITHER OPTION OFFERED on your list?
Elevated levels of whatever they are actually testing
for in the sewage is self-confessing that the poojabs
accomplish poop. Nada.
Use broad spectrum defensive approach, don't get pulled
into a maze of alleged variant punch counterpunch
nonsense.
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
[14907] [14906] [14943] [14945] [14946] [14947] |
|
14907 |
|
|
Date: August 29, 2024 at 12:31:34
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
URL: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/29/what-to-know-about-new-covid-19-vaccines-00176624 |
|
you seem to be in the "most people" category...
‘Most people are confused’: What to know about the latest Covid shot
While the risk of hospitalization and death is nowhere near what it was in 2021, there is still a danger, particularly for the elderly or those with compromised immune systems.
A pharmacist gives a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot.
CDC Director Mandy Cohen recommends that everyone older than 6 months get the new Covid (and flu) shot in September or October. | Scott Olson/Getty Images
By Chelsea Cirruzzo
08/29/2024 05:00 AM EDT
New Covid-19 vaccines are hitting the shelves just as a summer surge infects people across the nation.
For most, the virus has become background noise, but as case counts rise alongside the back-to-school season, the potential for spread grows exponentially.
There are “high” or “very high” levels of Covid in the wastewater in nearly every state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least one estimate suggests that as much as 2.5 percent of the population is infected with Covid.
Even the Democratic National Convention turned into a superspreader event.
And despite the virus’ prevalence — and the persistent threat of long Covid — public health officials are contending with a myriad of obstacles as they try to boost the population’s defenses, including dwindling enthusiasm for the shots, lackluster testing and the end of a program meant to help the uninsured get vaccinated.
“One of the challenges of today is just that people aren’t going to get vaccinated,” said Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “Most people are confused. They don’t really understand what’s happening or what the risk to them is,” when it comes to Covid.
More than 1 in 5 Americans falsely think it’s safer to get a Covid infection than a vaccine, a rise from 10 percent in April 2021, according to a recent poll by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
Last year, 22.5 percent of adults and 14.4 percent of children received the updated Covid vaccine, according to the CDC.
While the risk of hospitalization and death is nowhere near what it was in 2021, there is still a danger, particularly for the elderly or those with compromised immune systems.
“There is no doubt that this is better than we were in 2020 or 2021, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable or good enough,” said Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general during the Trump administration.
Here is what you need to know about the vaccine:
How effective is the vaccine?
The FDA asked the vaccine manufacturers in June to incorporate the KP.2 strain into their formulas because it was the prevalent form of the virus at the time. Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s vaccines both target KP.2, but related subvariants, KP.3 and KP.3.1.1 — now the most prevalent strains — are estimated to account for more than half of U.S. cases, according to the CDC.
Osterholm said the virus has changed quickly in recent years, which means by the time a new vaccine comes out, the strain it was engineered against is no longer dominant.
That doesn’t mean it’s ineffective, said CDC Director Mandy Cohen, who recommended everyone older than 6 months get their Covid (and flu) shot “in September or October ahead of the expected increases in both viruses this winter.”
MOST READ
GettyImages-2167183305.jpg
Democrats Are Already Buzzing About a Merrick Garland Successor
Harris gains on Trump in Sun Belt states where Biden struggled, Fox poll finds
Trump team involved in ‘incident’ with staff at Arlington cemetery
Why Gavin Newsom lost star surrogate status under Kamala Harris
Peggy Flanagan is poised to become the country’s first female Native American governor
Some public health experts suggest going even earlier, if possible, because of the surge in cases.
“The whole point of getting a vaccine is you’re supposed to get it before you get infected or exposed,” Adams said.
Last year’s vaccine offered 54 percent protection against symptomatic Covid infections, according to a CDC study.
Pre-loaded syringes of the Covid-19 vaccine are ready for use.
Pre-loaded syringes of the Covid-19 vaccine are ready for use in New Orleans on Jan. 25, 2022. | Ted Jackson/AP
When should you get a shot if you’ve recently been infected with Covid?
Adams said this is a question he has fielded often in the past several weeks as people get Covid amid the summer surge.
The CDC recommends that people who recently had Covid may consider waiting to get an updated dose for three months after symptom onset or a positive test but can get their dose as soon as their symptoms resolve.
Is the Covid surge peaking?
It depends on where you live, said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. About half the states show growth in viral transmission, but that’s much better than earlier this month when nearly every state reported increases.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” he said during a press briefing last week. “But we are potentially seeing some indication of a plateauing.”
Do we have a good sense of how widespread Covid is?
Wastewater surveillance can help provide clues, but public health officials can’t track the virus as well as they did during the height of the pandemic. Testing and reporting aren’t happening on nearly the same level.
“What’s interesting is we’re in 2024, and there still does not seem to be a national testing strategy in terms of who should get tested, distribution, reporting of testing results, et cetera,” Adams said. “The CDC … could and should do more to help us gain visibility into the problems that are occurring out there by really developing and communicating an overall testing strategy.”
What about the cost?
Most insurance plans cover the vaccine at no charge under the Affordable Care Act. But, for the uninsured, that will likely be different this year. A federal program to provide free Covid shots for the uninsured will end this week. Local health officials in several states told POLITICO they plan to or are seriously considering purchasing doses to offer uninsured residents. But few expect to have enough cash to buy the amount they believe they will need.
While the CDC last week said it would send $62 million to local and state governments to help them purchase vaccines, that sum is a fraction of the $1.1 billion allocated for the Bridge Access Program — which began last September and got 1.5 million Americans vaccinated.
And local health officials still don’t know who gets that money or how much they might get. And if they do get money, they don’t know whether it can be used to purchase the actual vaccine or must be used for administrative purchases like staffing.
“It’s not enough, and we need to learn more about what it’s meant to support,” Chrissie Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, told reporters Tuesday.
A Covid vaccine can cost upwards of $100 without health insurance, and some public health officials worry that the end of the Bridge Access Program will temper already lackluster enthusiasm.
“We are definitely experiencing Covid fatigue,” said Crystal La Tour Rambaud, who manages the vaccine program at the Pima County Health Department in Arizona. “The population we are concerned about are the people on the fence. They are not completely anti-[vaccine], and they are not completely all about it. And for those groups of people, it’s a very small thing that could tip the scale in the direction of not being vaccinated.”
She said Pima plans to buy enough doses for its entire uninsured population.
“But it’s going to have to come out of the same budget that a lot of our other vaccine projects come out of,” she said.
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
None |
|
14906 |
|
|
Date: August 27, 2024 at 18:54:54
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
|
|
That kind of thinking killed my elderly stepfather last
year who died of covid because some well-meaning
relatives told him the vax was bad based on internet
conspiracies.
My mother got hers. She survived.
Don't even go there with me.
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
[14943] [14945] [14946] [14947] |
|
14943 |
|
|
Date: September 03, 2024 at 10:08:38
From: Rodney Boulderfield, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
|
|
It may or may not be more challenging to be
comprehensively logical when dealing with close
relatives.
I know my stepfather developed Bell's Palsy after his
Moderna injections and this was a well-warned "side
effect" of the shots, but since he was already a long
term cancer patient, all the directly related and other
adults in the room blamed the Palsy on the cancer.
They also ambivalently opted for physician-recommended
surgery on the Palsy, even though that's not normally
indicated, somebody's pet research project, maybe. He
passed less than 6 months after Moderna, I believe, but
in this case, the declared cause of mortality wasn't
the commonplace trigger-happy COVID or of course not
Moderna, but cancer. Where is the logic?
Now examine your statement about your relatives
carefully, it's too short to be comprehensively
logical, and leaves huge scopes out of scope.
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
[14945] [14946] [14947] |
|
14945 |
|
|
Date: September 03, 2024 at 10:29:56
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
|
|
Bell's Palsy is a common ailment long before the
vaccine or covid. It didn't stop affecting older (and
younger people) when covid came along, or vaccines.
It's thought to be related to the same virus that
causes shingles in older people.
I've had Bell's palsy, so I know a bit about it, and
docs cleared it up in 3 weeks with easily available
meds and a few exercises for a while.
The two do not necessarily have anything to do with
each other any more than "my dog died just after
sunrise, therefore..the sun cause my dogs death".
And this is how you all push these stupid conspiracies,
without proof, and get more people killed that didn't
have to die.
You need to examine your severely flawed logic
yourself.
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
[14946] [14947] |
|
14946 |
|
|
Date: September 03, 2024 at 20:24:16
From: Rodney Boulderfield, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
|
|
The rising sun could be a cofactor in killing your dog
if it was about to run across the road from the shadows
and the sun blinded it to the speeding truck.
Yes Bells and shingles (Monkey Pox) are caused by the
herpes virus we are told, a typical body microorganism
that's usually on a short leash until something turns
it loose in the impacted bodily system.
Something like a fraudulent inoculation that harms gut
bacteria and other immune system components and yields
no actual benefit other than making lots of people
repeatedly sick as a dog (or monkey).
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
[14947] |
|
14947 |
|
|
Date: September 03, 2024 at 20:52:36
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Should you get a COVID shot now or wait for the updated booster? |
|
|
|
anti-biotics seem to be a much more dangerous medicine for gut bacteria than vaccinations...the egregious overuse of anti-biotics has led to a serious problem with human resilience and the human immunity systems
|
|
|
|
|
Responses:
None |
|
[
Health ] [ Main Menu ] |