New COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Chicago, experts answer questions

The new COVID-19 vaccine designed to better target the virus’ spreading variants has started to arrive in Chicago.

The question of whether or not Chicagoans should get the shot is a no-brainer for the medical school experts and Chicago Department of Public Health leaders studying it.

“A million people in the United States have died from COVID,” said CDPH Medical Director Stephanie Black. “We have to respect all of that and take it seriously. Everyone really should be vaccinated.”

Here are answers to questions about the vaccine shared by experts and public health officials with the Tribune.

What is the new vaccine?

It’s just that, said Dr. Robert Murphy: A new vaccine, and not an updated booster.

“It’s like a flu shot. Every year, you get a flu shot,” said Murphy, executive director of the Havey Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “This is a completely new vaccine.”

Compared with the first widely-used COVID-19 vaccine and the “bivalent” booster shots introduced in fall 2022, the new vaccine is better designed to protect against the spreading omicron variant, Murphy said.

And even as the specific omicron subvariants it targets become less predominant, the vaccine should still provide protection against common emerging subvariants, said Dr. Susan Bleasdale, University of Illinois Health’s medical director of Infection Prevention and Control.

“It will provide more protection than what people have been vaccinated with in the past,” Bleasdale said.

The CDC approved the two mRNA from manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna and is reviewing another more traditional protein-based vaccine from Novavax. All three vaccines use not-alive material based on the actual virus and cannot cause COVID-19 infection, Bleasedale said.

Past versions of the vaccine will be replaced by the better-suited updates, she added.

“If you’re going to get a COVID vaccine, this is the one you’re going to get,” Bleasedale said.

Who should get the vaccine and when?

The vaccine is recommended by the CDC for every American more than 6 months old. Most people should get just one shot, the agency recommends.

“They tried very hard this time to keep it simple,” Murphy said.

But the recommendation comes with some caveats. People who are immunocompromised or older than 65 can get a second dose four months after their first, according to the CDC. Children under 5 who haven’t been vaccinated or contracted the virus should get a regimen of shots, Murphy said.

“As long as it’s been two months since your last COVID vaccine, you can get the new shot right away,” the CDPH told the Tribune.

If you’ve recently contracted the virus, the CDC says you can get vaccinated as soon as symptoms are gone. Murphy said he advises his patients to wait a month or two before getting a COVID-19 vaccine after they’ve been sick with the virus.

“They already have such a high immunologic response. They’ll have a lot of side effects from the vaccine,” he said. But for many at-risk people, a shorter timeline could be appropriate, he added, so people with recent infections considering vaccination should talk to their doctor.

Bleasdale said it’s particularly important for people to get the shot who are older, immunocompromised or have risk factors that could lead to complications with COVID-19, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

“I want to make sure that people who are at the highest risk are really making this a top priority,” she said.

Both doctors and the CDPH urged all Chicagoans to consider getting the new vaccine.

How do I get the vaccine in Chicago — and is it free?

People with private health insurance, Medicaid or Medicare should go to a pharmacy or doctor’s office to get the new vaccine, according to the CDPH.

Same-day appointments were available in Chicago at several CVS locations via online scheduling for Thursday, with appointments at some Walgreens locations open Monday.

Federal, state and local programs have also been designed to get uninsured people vaccinated at no cost, Bleasdale said.

“So no one should hesitate to get it based on their insurance status,” she said.

The CDPH is planning to host mass vaccination clinics at City Colleges on Saturdays starting in October. Vaccines will be offered at no cost for underinsured and uninsured Chicagoans at several regularly open city-run immunization clinics and numerous federally qualified health centers. The CDPH also offers at-home vaccination for those with limited mobility and homebound seniors.

The no-cost vaccines will be available to people in Chicago regardless of immigration status, CDPH medical director Brian Borah said. The health department plans to use mobile clinics to offer vaccination to migrants and refugees at official and unofficial shelters, who also receive health care through the county, he added.

“Vaccine equity continues to be a top priority for us,” Borah said.

While some Chicago retail pharmacies have received the shots, the health department expects to receive the doses it ordered by early next week.

Murphy noted the shot does cost money for insurers. The vaccine’s triple-digit cost can be covered by “hundreds” of programs for uninsured people, but it will take some digging.

“You can do it, but it’s going to be a little bit challenging to find where you can get it,” he said. “It’s really unfortunate.”

Vaccination may come with some small administrative costs not covered by insurance, Bleasdale said.

Why should I get this vaccine?

There are two reasons to get vaccinated, Murphy said.

“One, to protect yourself. Two, to protect everyone around you,” he said.

Clinical trials for the new vaccines and the widespread use of older COVID-19 vaccines show the inoculations are safe and effective at presenting severe illness, he said. For people not at high risk of severe illness, the vaccines may be able to help them stave off the emerging threats of “long COVID,” like lingering brain fog, he said.

“You’re going to have less chance of having it and less chance of giving it,” he said.

The older vaccines have already led to “dramatic” decline in COVID-19 deaths, Bleasdale said. And if vaccinated people do get sick with COVID-19, they will likely be more functional and get back to activities sooner, she said.

“It’s also important for us as a community,” Bleasdale said, adding that vaccination can help prevent high capacity in hospitals.

Fewer than a quarter of Chicagoans received the bivalent booster shot offered last fall, CDPH data shows.

“It’s just excruciating to not see better picking up of the vaccine,” Black said.

With COVID-19 still infecting people in Chicago, the vaccine can help people “get back to their normal lives” and do things like travel during the holidays, she said.

“This vaccine is kind of a ticket to being able to do that,” she said.

It’s particularly important for people who are at high risk, she said. But the virus can and has killed and hospitalized people of all ages — harsh consequences vaccination helps prevent, she said.

What is the status of COVID-19′s spread right now?

Chicago saw pandemic lows in lab-confirmed cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations in July. Since, the two indicators have steadily risen, though both are slightly down this week, according to the CDPH.

The city is seeing daily averages of 12 hospitalizations and 155 lab-confirmed cases, as well as about two deaths per week, CDPH data shows. The city and most counties across Illinois remain at a “low” risk level, as defined by the CDC.

However, it’s hard to tell how widely the virus is spreading with access to lab-confirmed tests severely curtailed, Murphy said.

“We don’t really know. It’s incredible how stupid the system is,” he said criticizing cuts in testing funding.

Hospitalizations have risen around 10% each week over the last seven weeks nationwide, Murphy said.

The virus remains more transmissible than the flu and around three times more likely to lead to death or hospitalization, he said. He expects new vaccines to come annually, possibly earlier in the year before apparent late summer spread, he added.

Bleasdale said the country is no longer in a pandemic, but instead faced an endemic disease in the spreading coronavirus.

“COVID-19 is with us, it’s not going away, and we know how to manage it,” she said, citing mask wearing, vaccinations and isolating when sick as the best tools.

Local virus levels are below levels across the state and country, Borah said.

“As it gets colder, as people head indoors, as our behavior changes with the fall and winter months, we do expect levels of flu, RSV and COVID activity to increase over the coming weeks and months in Chicago, he added.

What do I do about my lost vaccination card?

A lost vaccine card is no problem, Murphy said. The place where someone was previously vaccinated can issue a replacement, he said.

“But it’s a good idea to keep track of all your vaccinations,” he added.

A state vaccination registry can also help medical professionals track down pasts shots, Bleasdale said. But the new, annual vaccine makes keeping track more straightforward: You need the new one each year.

“If you lost your vaccination card, that’s OK, it really doesn’t matter about past vaccinations,” she said.

And if someone completely fills vaccination card, they can request a new one and staple it to the old one, according to the CDPH.

Can I get this at the same time as my flu shot?

It is safe to get both the flu shot and COVID-19 vaccine at the same time, the CDC says. The side effects are generally the same whether the shots are administered separately, the agency added.

Bleasdale argued it might be best to get the possible aches out of the way together.

“You can get both at the same time,” she said. “It’s often easier to get it done at the same time, and it doesn’t affect your ability to build immunity. And you don’t want to forget to get the other one.”