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COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations Have Been Updated
Following action by the FDA, the CDC updated its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, which have been adopted by the Virginia Department of Health. The updates allow certain people to get a second booster to increase their protection against severe disease.
○ People ages 12 years and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may choose to receive a second booster dose using an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months after the first booster dose
○ Adults ages 50 years and older who are not moderately or severely immunocompromised may choose to receive a second booster dose using an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months after the first booster dose
○ People ages 18–49 years who are not moderately or severely immunocompromised and who received Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine as both their primary series dose and booster dose may receive a second booster dose using an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months after the first Janssen booster dose
■ For adults ages 18-49 years who received a J&J primary dose and an mRNA booster, a second booster is not currently recommended.
■ For adults ages 50 years or older who received a J&J primary dose and an mRNA booster, they can receive a second mRNA booster 4 months after the previous booster dose.
○ VDH recommends that people assess their own personal risk. They are encouraged to consult with a healthcare provider on what is best for their situation.
○ Those who are unvaccinated and without a booster remain at the highest risk of severe illness and hospitalization due to COVID-19. This population remains VDH’s top priority.
COVID-cabulary
Don't call it the fourth shot.
In most cases, the second booster will be a fourth dose of one of the mRNA vaccines. But it may be a third shot for people who initially received a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or a fifth shot for some immunocompromised people who needed three shots to complete their initial vaccination series.
The Epi-Center
Epidemiology is the science at center of public health.
"Are there any other vaccines that require four doses? It seems to me that is an extreme number and perhaps the initial vaccine was too rushed.”
Yes, there are a number of vaccination series that require multiple doses of three, four or more — including some that call for regular boosters throughout our lifetimes. Many of us may not think about them because we receive them during childhood to prime our immune systems to fight diseases we may encounter as children or later on as adults.
But health experts say there is precedent, both for children and adults, to get repeated doses of vaccines.
Ruth Karron, a professor and director of the Johns Hopkins Vaccine Initiative at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said these vaccines are often broken down into a primary series and a booster dose or doses.
The diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP), Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib), pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine, for instance, require three initial doses and then a booster shot — or a fourth dose, according to the child and adolescent immunization schedule from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DTaP calls for a fifth dose later in childhood.
In adulthood, a fourth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for people who are at higher risk. Tetanus boosters are administered every 10 years. And, of course, many of us receive the annual influenza vaccine dozens of times throughout our lives.
Granted, the flu shot is a bit different in that each year it is tailored to provide protective immunity against a new variant — which is one reason we get it.
The point is, needing a series of doses does not mean the vaccine research was rushed. Messenger RNA technology had been studied, developed and refined for years before it was used in the coronavirus vaccines, and experts said no corners were cut in bringing them to market.
Washington Post - Your Questions Answered 3/28/2022