The season update is accompanied by an update on COVID-19 vaccines. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) legalized the use of a set of boosters, with the Pfizer-BioNTech injection turned green for others 12 and older and the Moderna vaccine for others over 18. Vaccines can only be obtained at least two months after vaccination number one.
Unlike previous doses, the new booster is a bivalent vaccine that includes an updated formula containing the mRNA from the original SARS-CoV-2 strain to provide broad coverage against COVID-19 infection, as well as mRNA from the latest version of Omicron. Variants BA. 4 and BA. 5. As of September, the BA. 5 variant is lately the dominant variant circulating in the United States, accounting for 88. 6% of cases.
Infectious disease experts are bracing for a new wave of cases in the fall and winter, but are cautiously confident that new COVID-19 withdrawals will provide immunity to serious illness. These vaccines will be available soon. Here’s what you want to know before you get one.
At the end of the week. The White House COVID-19 Response Team said at a Sept. 6 news conference that it had already shipped millions of doses once it got FDA approval on Aug. 31. He announced that as of Friday, Sept. 9, “more than 90 percent of Americans will live within five miles of these new updated vaccines.
You can make a stop at Vaccines. gov to locate the sites that provide the new reinforcements. Appointments at pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens will be held this weekend and most hours will open next week. You can also contact your number one provider or local fitness clinic to find out if they are making vaccination appointments and what reminder they carry.
Michael Chang, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann Hospital, says there’s not much evidence to recommend that one is better than the other. However, he says preclinical knowledge showed little difference between the two and that the two were effective in preventing disease. and hospitalization.
Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, this time recommends pursuing a combined strategy. vice versa. ” She says that because vaccines are formulated a little differently and there are more studies recommending that mixing and combining give you an extra touch of immunity, they most likely have a higher degree of protection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s not up to date on its vaccines until it completes its number one series and maximum legal booster recently. Although he gained a booster beyond this year, Chang says those new vaccines target more of Omicron’s strains. “There will be more canopy variants lately in flux and potentially provide broader immunity compared to long-term variants,” he explains. Since the new reinforcements are more effective, they will update the previous reinforcements, which will no longer be presented to other people over the age of 12, Chang adds.
[Related: Omicron Boosters Are the Future of COVID Vaccines in the United States]
Chang says that if he gained his booster even 3 or 4 months ago, his antibody levels have probably dropped. He and Nachman agree that getting the bivalent vaccine will boost the country’s herd immunity and provide as much coverage as you can imagine in the future. America moves from pandemic to endemic mode, priorities have shifted to learning how to live with it and manage the virus.
“COVID is here to stay,” adds Nachman. Va to be a component of our lives and I suspect we’re going to have an annual dose like the flu shot every year. “
Yes, you can wait, but not too much. Fighting a recent war with COVID temporarily provides you with antibodies to contract some other infection. The CDC recommends that you do not delay your booster shot for more than 3 months from the time your symptoms first appeared or when you got a positive test result.
Studies that measure antibody levels after the strain of infection show many differences from naturally acquired protection, Nachman says. In some cases, he says, the antibodies lasted a few months, while in others the levels dropped before that. one day [after testing negative]? No,” he said. Would I wait six months? Absolutely not. “
If you recently recovered from an infection and are delaying the dose by 3 to 4 months, Chang says you will most likely have your highest antibody levels during the winter, a time when infectious disease experts expect to see a buildup in the moments after the holiday. “You’ll likely have an increase in antibodies in about two weeks [after vaccination]. “
Nachman says that, in an ideal world, other people would wait until October or November to receive the retreat and prepare for a bad winter. But if you have underlying immune disorders or live with someone with multiple medical conditions, he recommends getting vaccinated right away. If you’re making plans to travel outside the country, you say it would be ideal to get vaccinated a month early to protect yourself from an outbreak imaginable in some other country. “There is no right answer,” he warns. When in doubt, Nachman strongly recommends talking to your doctor about the right time to get vaccinated.
[Related: China Approves World’s First COVID-19 Nasal Vaccine Booster]
Both experts say he expects to see side effects similar to those from his previous vaccines, such as mild fever, muscle pain around the injection site and fatigue. Although Chang hopes that the side effects will not be as severe as those of previous vaccines. “In some cases, with other people who have had side effects from the vaccine, we see a little less side effects with each booster. “
To prepare for side effects, experts propose to rest all night, gently move the body to relieve fatigue and muscle pain, and stay hydrated during the day. Nachman does not recommend taking painkillers such as aspirin, Tylenol or Motrin before vaccination. , says it’s more productive to take Tylenol a few hours later.
There is no exact timeline for when boosters will be available for children over the ages of five to 11. The two experts say Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are already beginning preparatory work to conduct studies on the appropriate dosage for this age group.
Chang says the procedure for authorizing reinforcements for young children doesn’t take that long; it could even see more progress before the end of the year. Nachman’s prediction is a bit darker. Teams of youth through past the winter of 2023. The CDC recommends that youth ages five to 11 get a monovalent booster dose, which contains only the original strain, in the meantime.
Articles may include associated links that allow us to make a percentage profit from any acquisitions made.
Registration or use of this implies acceptance of our terms of use.
© 2022 Recurring. All rights reserved.