Columbus doctors answer 3 major questions about new COVID boosters

For the first time in more than two years, COVID-19 vaccines have been retooled, and local health departments and hospital systems are already rolling them out to the public.

To bolster immune responses to COVID, new booster shots were designed to be "bivalent," meaning they'll target two strains of the virus including the original version of COVID-19 along with the omicron subvariants BA.5 and BA.4.

The now-dominant BA.5 subvariant is the main strain in Ohio, representing more than 92% of cases from Aug. 14 through Aug. 27, the most-recent dates for which data is available from the Ohio Department of Health. The original BA.4 strain made up 2.72% of cases during the last two weeks of August while the BA.4.6 variant represented 4.42% of cases, according to the state health department.

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"We're still seeing a fair number of people who are currently getting their first COVID infection," said Dr. Mark Herbert, an infectious disease specialist for Mount Carmel Health. "That's good evidence that even though they had protection early, the virus strains are changing and that immunity may no longer be protective."

The new COVID booster was formulated based on experts' best guesses about what strains will be the most common this fall and winter. It's the same approach medical leaders take with the annual flu shot, said Dr. Joe Gastaldo, medical director of infectious diseases at OhioHealth.

The new boosters include one made by Pfizer and another by Moderna. With the rollout beginning, The Dispatch asked Herbert and Gastaldo to weigh in on them and what Ohioans should know.

When and where can I get the new COVID booster?

Anyone who has had the original two doses of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is eligible for the new bivalent booster, regardless of if they've had any previous booster shots, the doctors said. It's recommended that anyone who received the original Johnson & Johnson shot get a dose of the original Pfizer or Moderna vaccine before getting the newly-approved "bivalent booster," Herbert said.

Pfizer's new booster shot is available to anyone age 12 and older while Moderna's can be administered to anyone 18 or older.

Central Ohioans can get the new booster if they're at least two months out from a previous booster dose, Gastaldo said.

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Previous infection may protect some from reinfection for up to 90 days, the doctors said. People should wait at least two weeks after infection before getting the new booster, Herbert said.

"To me, it's a no brainer for people to get the booster," Gastaldo said.

The new bivalent booster shot is available at 50 locations around central Ohio, according to the federal government's COVID vaccine finder. Locations include Columbus Public Health, pharmacies and doctors offices.

The Ohio Department of Health continues to update its COVID vaccine tracker, which people also can use to find a location.

Unlike the initial COVID vaccine kickoff in late 2020 and early 2021, it's unlikely there will be many mass vaccination clinics this time around, Gastaldo said.

Should I wait to get the booster near the holidays or until I travel?

The new boosters have arrived with major U.S. holidays just weeks away as colder temperatures will force people to gather indoors. The holidays also bring with them more travel, which Gastaldo said can be a "recipe for transmission" of the virus.

It's understandable that Ohioans may want to be as protected as they can be when traveling or gathering, Herbert said. But, it made more sense to wait last year than this year with newer, more contagious variants now circulating, he said.

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"I think with the original booster vaccine, there was a reasonable rationale to time it with travel or the family reunion," Herbert said. "But this vaccine is a different vaccine, and this one is now targeted at the most-prevalent strain in the community. You should receive this booster as soon as possible."

COVID cases peaked in January in Ohio last winter at 32,000 per day, according to the Ohio Department of Health. The state no longer reports daily case totals, and at-home testing makes it unclear how many infections there are at any point in time.

But, Gastaldo said it's inevitable that cases will climb higher again this year.

"The pandemic is still going on, and the virus is not going away," Gastaldo said.

Can I get the new COVID booster with a flu shot or monkeypox vaccine?

Yes and no.

As with last fall's booster shots, the new COVID booster can be given at the same time as a flu shot.

In fact, doctors like Herbert and Gastaldo encouraged Ohioans to get the two vaccines at the same time. It will save people time and effort, they said.

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People who have the free time and are concerned about getting a flu shot and COVID booster at the same time can split the two shots up by a week or two, the doctors said.

But Gastaldo recommended against people getting the new COVID booster alongside a vaccine for monkeypox, which spurred a summer outbreak across Ohio and the rest of the U.S. People should wait at least four weeks between getting the brand new monkeypox vaccine JYNNEOS and the new COVID booster, Gastaldo said.

"It's just a precaution to separate them,"Gastaldo said. "The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) are very, very cautious when something new comes out, as they should be."

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus doctors answer questions about new COVID boosters