NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Older U.S. adults should roll up their sleeves for another shot, even if they got a booster in the fall, U.S. health officials said Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Americans 65 and older should get another dose of the updated vaccine that became available in September 鈥� if at least four months has passed since their last shot. In making the recommendation, the agency endorsed guidance proposed by an expert advisory panel earlier in the day.
鈥淢ost COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations last year were among people 65 years and older. An additional vaccine dose can provide added protection ... for those at highest risk,鈥� CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement.
The advisory panel's decision came after a lengthy discussion about whether to say older people 鈥渕ay鈥� get the shots or if they 鈥渟hould" do so. That reflects a debate among experts about how necessary another booster is and whether yet another recommendation would add to the public's growing .
Some doctors say most older adults are adequately protected by the fall shot, which built on immunity derived from earlier vaccinations and exposure to the virus itself. And preliminary studies so far have shown no substantial waning in over six months.
However, the body鈥檚 vaccine-induced defenses tend to fade over time, and that happens faster in seniors than in other adults. The committee had recommended COVID-19 booster doses for older adults in 2022 and 2023.
COVID-19 remains a danger, especially to older people and those with underlying medical conditions. There are still more than and more than each week due to the coronavirus, according to the CDC. And people 65 and older have the .
Some members of the advisory panel said a 鈥渟hould" recommendation is meant to more clearly prod doctors and pharmacists to offer the shots.
鈥淢ost people are coming in either wanting the vaccine or not,鈥� said Dr. Jamie Loehr, a committee member and family doctor in Ithaca, New York. 鈥淚 am trying to make it easier for providers to say, 鈥榊es, we recommend this.鈥欌��
In September, the government recommended a new built against a version of the coronavirus called XBB.1.5. That single-target vaccine replaced combination shots that had been targeting both the original coronavirus strain and a much earlier omicron version.
The CDC for everyone 6 months and older, and allowed that people with weak immune systems could get a second dose as early as two months after the first.
Most Americans haven鈥檛 listened. According to the latest CDC data, 13% of U.S. children have gotten the shots and about 22% of U.S. adults have. The vaccination rate is higher for adults 65 and older, at nearly 42%.
鈥淚n each successive vaccine, the uptake has gone down,鈥� said Dr. David sa国际传媒y, a Case Western Reserve University infectious diseases expert who studies COVID-19 in older people.
鈥淧eople are tired of getting all these shots all the time,鈥� said sa国际传媒y, who does not serve on the committee. 鈥淲e have to be careful about over-recommending the vaccine.鈥�
But there is a subset of Americans 鈥� those at higher danger of severe illness and death 鈥� who have been asking if another dose is permissible, said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccines expert who serves on a committee workgroup that has been debating the booster question.
Indeed, CDC survey data suggests that group's biggest worry about the vaccine is whether it's effective enough.
Agency officials say that among those who got the latest version of the COVID-19 vaccine, 50% fewer will get sick after they come into contact with the virus compared with those who didn't get the fall shot.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press
