The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday expanded its recommendations for coronavirus vaccines, urging some people to get a booster shot of the latest vaccine.
The agency said people over 65 and those with moderate or severe immunocompromise should receive a second dose six months after the first dose of the vaccine, which was rolled out this fall.
The new guidelines also give people with compromised immune systems the flexibility to receive more than three doses of the latest vaccines in consultation with their health care provider. According to Dr. Donald Dunford, an infectious disease physician at the Cleveland Clinic, this group includes people who have advanced HIV infection, are undergoing chemotherapy, or are being treated for autoimmune diseases. It is said to be included.
This measure will make it easier for people who are most at risk of death or severe illness from coronavirus to receive additional protection.
“If a person is willing to get infected, that’s great,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. We have permission,” he said.
Of course, not everyone is happy. COVID-19 vaccination rates have remained stubbornly low in recent years. As of Oct. 12, only about 12% of adults reported having received an up-to-date vaccine, according to CDC data.
These vaccines are well-matched against the currently circulating variants and can provide some protection against infection and reduce the risk of hospitalization and death from the virus. Vaccines also reduce the likelihood that a person will have long-term illness from the coronavirus. However, immunity declines over time.
“Now more than ever, we need a more durable strategy for vaccination,” said Dr. Mark Sala, co-director of Northwestern Medicine’s COVID-19 Center in Chicago.
The coronavirus poses special challenges because it circulates year-round and surges in unpredictable waves. Maintaining protection is difficult, especially for people with weakened immune systems. The CDC’s new recommendations signal a shift in the medical community’s thinking about vaccinations, Dr. Schaffner said.
“This is not how we normally administer vaccines,” he said. But “we need to move to this new way of providing protection through vaccines,” he added.
