Before the omicron wave ripped through the country, infecting even those with multiple doses of the Covid-19 vaccines, evidence was already emerging that the effectiveness of vaccines to protect against infection started to wane after several months. Booster shots were soon approved in response, to recharge peoples immunity against a virus that is still widespread.
By now, for some Americans, its been months since those booster shots. Israel, which has taken one of the most aggressive approaches to vaccination, is considering fourth doses for all adults. So that raises the question for boosted Americans: Am I going to need a fourth shot?
For now, experts say, it depends. If you are immunocompromised, yes, you should get a fourth shot and youre already eligible. For everyone else, the jury is still out, although a fourth shot doesnt appear to be immediately on the horizon.
Experts say that because immunocompromised people are more vulnerable right now, it makes sense for them to get another dose of the vaccines currently available. For everybody else, scientists are still assessing whether another dose is actually necessary, as well as what kind of dose it should be.
Immunocompromised people already qualify for four doses under the CDCs recommendations. Eligible patients include people who are receiving cancer treatment, people who have received an organ transplant, people with HIV infections, and people who have autoimmune disorders or who are taking medications that can suppress their immune system.
Immunocompromised people did not receive the same level of protection from the initial two-dose regimen of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which is why they were one of the first groups made eligible for booster shots last fall. For them, three doses effectively serve as their first vaccine course, with a booster to be given several months after that.
Preliminary studies out of the UK, US, and France have indicated that about half of the immunocompromised people who did not see any immune response after two doses did experience a response after the third dose, and more robust research is underway to assess the effectiveness of a fourth shot, particularly for immunocompromised people.
There have been reports of people who meet those criteria being turned away at pharmacies, another example of poor communication in the US pandemic response. But the Biden White House held a call with pharmacists last week to more clearly lay out who is eligible for an additional shot and ensure those people are not denied the opportunity to bolster their immune systems response to Covid-19.
So immunocompromised people are the priority for fourth shots right now. For everybody else, experts say well need to wait and see.
One Israeli study found a strong antibody response after four doses of the original vaccine, though it wasnt sufficient to fully prevent infection from the omicron variant. Israel, one of the most aggressive countries on booster shots, has made all adults over 60 years old, health care workers, and nursing home residents eligible for a fourth shot. It is considering fourth shots for all adults over 18, after at least five months has passed since their third dose or a Covid-19 infection.
For the time being, the half-dozen experts I asked about fourth shots were unanimous that an additional dose makes sense for the immunocompromised, but they also agree the evidence is not yet persuasive for the wider population, at least until some of the studies being conducted on fourth shots and on omicron-specific vaccines are completed.
Pfizer and Moderna are focusing on omicron-specific doses; Pfizer has said that vaccine could be available as soon as March, and Moderna also expects results from its clinical trials next month.
Im not persuaded that fourth shots are necessary. Well have to see when the actual data comes out, Angela Rasmussen, a virologist with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, told me. With, as you point out, the exception being immunocompromised people.
The next shot that many people receive may be more targeted to the latest variant. Some scientists even argue we need vaccines that combine the old and the new formulations, in case the next variant after omicron has genetically more in common with earlier strains.
The underlying point is, the original version of the vaccines may be in need of an update. But the data is still coming in on how urgent those additional shots are for most people.
And be aware: The thinking could change in the coming months. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease researcher at the University of California San Francisco, told me that she thought people over 75 with multiple chronic conditions might benefit from another dose. William Hanage, a Harvard epidemiologist, said that if a fourth shot were shown to prevent any infection, even for a short time, it might make sense to again inoculate medical workers during future surges to prevent hospitals from becoming understaffed.
The science is always changing. And we could be moving into a future where periodic Covid-19 boosters are a part of the usual vaccine schedule, like annual flu shots. Modernas chief medical officer told CNBC this week that he thought omicron-specific vaccines could fill that role going forward.
As Peter Hotez, who leads the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Childrens Hospital, told me: We need clarity on the durability of mRNA vaccines.
But what should not be lost in this debate is that the vaccines we do have, and the doses already administered, are doing a lot of good. People with three doses had a 96 percent reduced risk of hospitalization from omicron, according to a recent CDC study; even people with only two doses saw an 81 percent reduced risk. Though immune responses vary by age and health, the vast majority of elderly people still showed an immune response five months after their third shot.
A projection from the Commonwealth Fund estimated the Covid-19 vaccines had saved as many as 1.1 million lives through November 2021. So while the situation is always changing, as omicron reminded us, the basic value of vaccination has not. Some of us might need an additional shot right now. The rest of us might need one later.
But the takeaway remains the same: Get your shots as recommended. They save lives.
FLINT, MI - The City of Flint has teamed up with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to offer COVID-19 vaccines and testing through clinics at Flint Police mini stations.
Starting Monday, Feb. 2, clinics will be held thrice-weekly at three mini stations with plans to change the schedules as needed, according to a news release.
The mini stations opened in late October 2021 as part of an initiative by Flint Police Chief Terence Green to engage with the public to help combat crime in the city.
Related: Four mini stations open in Flint as police work to engage community
Genesee County has recorded 96,087 COVID-19 cases and 1,526 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to health department figures.
The most recent COVID-19 numbers -- for the week of Jan. 22-28 -- shows 926 cases per 100,000 residents, or a 31.7% positivity rate, down from 38% the week prior.
For more information about COVID-19 vaccines or upcoming pop-up clinics, visit the Genesee County Health Departments website here.
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Area hospital officials say nearly nine out of 10 of those hospitalized in intensive care units for COVID-19 in the most recent surge and nearly five out of six of the over 370 people who died were unvaccinated.
Q: How many people have been injured or died from the vaccine?
The longstanding Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is being used to track possible COVID-19 side effects. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a proactive system for investigating these side effects, as well as the voluntary V-safe self-reporting system. These monitoring systems are so sensitive that they have identified rare side effects that occur with only a few cases out of a million vaccines.
Serious adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination are rare but might occur. For example, anaphylaxis after COVID-19 vaccination is rare and has occurred in approximately 5 people per 1 million vaccinated in the United States.
The standards for safety for COVID vaccines are rigorous and high. For example, the rare occurrence of side effects with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (such as thrombosis reported in 57 cases out of 18 million J&J doses administered) contributed to the CDC updating its recommendation to prefer Pfizer or Moderna shots over J&J. This further demonstrates that the threshold for safety is high.
The risk of illness, death or long-haul symptoms if an unvaccinated person contracts COVID-19 are much higher than any rare risks of the vaccine.
Q: Was the vaccine rushed? Why did it come out so fast?
While COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly, all steps were taken to make sure they are safe and effective:
Scientists have been working for many years to develop vaccines against viruses like the one that causes COVID-19. This knowledge helped speed up the initial development of the current COVID-19 vaccines. All vaccines in the United States must go through three phases of clinical trials to make sure they are safe and effective. During the development of COVID-19 vaccines, phases overlapped to speed up the process, but all phases were completed.
Before vaccines are available, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration assesses the findings from clinical trials. The FDA determined that three COVID-19 vaccines met FDAs safety and effectiveness standards and granted those vaccines Emergency Use Authorizations. This allowed the vaccines to be quickly distributed to control the pandemic. Before recommending COVID-19 vaccination for children, scientists conducted clinical trials.
The FDA gave the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine emergency authorization to use in children 5 to 15 and full approval to use in those 16 and older. This week, the FDA gave the Moderna vaccine full approval for individuals 18 and older.
COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring has been the most intense and comprehensive in U.S. history. Over 540 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide.. Through several monitoring systems, CDC and FDA continue to provide updated information on the safety of these vaccines.
Q: Are the COVID-19 deaths inflated? Arent those people really dying from something else and officials are just saying it was COVID?
COVID deaths include all the people who would still be alive if they had not caught COVID at the point in time. People with preexisting conditions (such as high blood pressure, heart and vascular disease and diabetes) are more likely to have worse disease and worse outcomes with any respiratory infections. In COVID deaths, whatever the underlying conditions, it is the COVID infection that tips the balance and causes the deaths.
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Over half of Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 WKRC TV Cincinnati
Northeast Ohio hospitals place hundreds of workers on leave for refusing COVID-19 vaccine Yahoo News
Is the attenuated humoral response to COVID-19 vaccination in anti-TNF users relevant? The Lancet
Truckers and their supporters continue to protest against the COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa Colorado Springs Gazette
In the bustling corridor outside Northeast High Schools gymnasium, a 15-year-old told one of Philadelphias best-known COVID-19 vaccination advocates he had doubts about what she was promoting.
I dont know, the boy said. I dont know about the vaccine.
His grandfather didnt want him to get it, he told Ala Stanford, pediatric surgeon and founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, dedicated to ensuring equity in the vaccination effort. If he did, he said, he might have his video games taken away.
Its up to you whether you get it or not, Stanford replied, but I will listen to you.
There were several interactions like that Wednesday morning, at the beginning of a two-day vaccination clinic hosted at the school by Stanford and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who have been visiting city schools and will continue to do so through much of February. About 54% of the citys 12- to 17-year-olds and 47% of 5- to 11-year-olds are vaccinated, and thats not nearly enough, Stanford said.
In Philadelphia, anyone 11 or older may be vaccinated with or without parental consent, according to a health department spokesperson. The city School District has its own consent policy, Stanford said, requiring parental permission for shots administered to children in eighth grade or below, regardless of age. Allowing teens old enough to understand the need for vaccination to make their own decision, she said.
Students could check out of their lunch period and get the shots immediately. Staff hoped to vaccinate between 200 to 300 by the end of Thursday.
It was also a chance to ask questions of Stanford, who was treated as a visiting celebrity by staff and students.
We were so glad you were coming here, really, said Amy Leaness, a school nurse who described months of struggle managing COVID-19 at the school.
READ MORE: These doctors and nurses share COVID-19 falsehoods. They can become misinformation superspreaders.
Keeping track of student vaccinations, which determine whether a child needs to quarantine after a COVID-19 exposure, has been a logistical nightmare. Efforts to keep the virus out of the school hit a wall shortly after the holidays, when as many as 10 to 20 students a day were testing positive for COVID-19. Things have gotten better since.
Yet the vaccine refusals continue.
Weve had kids come in and say their parents arent allowing them to get it, said Margaret Beyer, another nurse.
Stanford said repeatedly Wednesday that students in ninth grade and up dont need parental permission to get vaccinated. Whether its to protect older family members who are more vulnerable to the worst effects of the virus, or to stay involved in youth sports, she kept the focus on the benefits of getting vaccinated.
After a morning assembly that introduced Stanford and the rules of the clinic to students, student Janiah Burris told Stanford she had gotten her second shot two months ago but was reluctant to get a booster when she became eligible. The 16-year-old later said she was worried it would make her sick. But instead of quizzing her on her motives, the doctor initially validated Burris concerns, telling her it was possible by the time she could get a booster in a few months COVID-19 might be less prevalent. If it wasnt, though, the booster would provide a big benefit.
Stanford described her own experience with a COVID-19 infection, told the girl how sick she got, and said being able to keep attending school and her job at Honeygrow would be easier if she was boosted.
You can even reach out to me in three months, Stanford said. Once Easter happens, think about reaching out to me.
Burris said later that the conversation clarified why boosters are helpful, but she still wasnt sure how much the shots mattered.
Im not sure its actually protecting me, she said.
Kaher Abuali, 16, said vaccination is not a big topic in his group.
READ MORE: Omicrons toughest foe is a booster shot, yet many in the Philly region are skipping theirs
They think corona wont affect us because were young, he said.
Abuali got his first dose Wednesday after being convinced by a friend and distant relative, Ayham Muhanna, 15. All morning, Muhanna worked his phone, calling friends and family within the schools Palestinian community to persuade them to get their shots.
He motivated me, bro, said Abuali, slapping hands with Muhanna. It was all him.
Muhanna didnt have plans to get his booster shot Wednesday, and didnt start the day intending to rally classmates around vaccination, but a presentation from Stanford at the beginning of the day inspired him.
Maybe Ill get my vaccine today, he described his thinking, and maybe Ill bring my friends along with me.
Many have young children in their families, he said, something he used to encourage them to go to the clinic.
Later, Muhanna strode across Northeast High Schools gymnasium toward a table where federal medical workers signed students up for vaccination.
I brought another family member! he shouted.
In a school where less than half of the roughly 3,200 students are vaccinated, a new proselytizer for vaccination was more than welcome.
He was the first to call me up right here, said the new kid Muhanna brought to the clinic, Ahmad Abuali, Kahers cousin.
As the morning passed, the boy whose grandfather didnt want him vaccinated didnt reappear. Stanford said she wished she had more time to talk to him. During their brief interaction, she emphasized that getting vaccinated was a confidential medical decision the boy was old enough to make.
I dont have to tell him, she told the boy, referring to his grandfather. You dont have to tell him.
The boy looked away from her as she spoke, considering. Then a distraction from security staff broke their conversation, and without a word the boy walked away, vanishing into the crush of students bustling through the hallway.
Of the UK's 377 local areas, 111 (29%) have seen a week-on-week rise in COVID-19 rates, 264 (70%) have seen a fall and two are unchanged.
Lisburn & Castlereagh in Northern Ireland has the highest rate in the UK, with 2,871 cases in the seven days to 31 January - the equivalent of 1,960.4 per 100,000 people.
This is up from a rate of 1,776.7 for the seven days to 24 January.
Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon in Northern Ireland has the second-highest rate, up slightly from 1,924.2 to 1,942.6, with 4,220 cases.
Meanwhile, Cambridge has the third-highest rate, down slightly from 1,812.7 to 1,796.7, with 2,247 cases.
Newport has the highest rate in Wales (733.8, down from 890.4) and Aberdeen City has the highest rate in Scotland (647.4, up from 583.3).
The five UK areas with the biggest week-on-week rises are:
Search your area below to see if you're living in a COVID hotspot.
