COVID booster shots coming again, CDC says — but not everyone needs one. What to know
Four years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are wondering if booster shots are going to become a regular part of life.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last recommended a round of booster shots in September for everyone over the age of six months. The agency said even those who hadn’t received a full round of the initial vaccine should get the booster ahead of what was anticipated to be a strong COVID-19 season.
And they were right.
As the country entered the holiday season, cases spiked as a new subvariant of Omicron, JN.1, spread rapidly and soon became the dominant strain of the virus.
Now, the subvariant accounts for nearly 95% of cases in the U.S., according to data from the CDC.
On Feb. 28, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a member board that provides recommendations for vaccine strategy for the CDC, met to discuss the possibility of a spring booster.
Here’s what you need to know.
Some Americans need spring booster shots
ACIP voted to recommend everyone over the age of 65 get an additional COVID-19 booster this spring, according to a Feb. 28 news release from the CDC.
The vote was 11 to 1, with one abstention, STAT News reported, and was then endorsed by CDC Director Mandy Cohen, a step required for the shots to be covered by health insurance.
“Today’s recommendation allows older adults to receive an additional dose of this season’s COVID-19 vaccine to provide added protection,” Cohen said in the release. “Most COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations last year were among people 65 years and older. An additional vaccine dose can provide added protection that may have decreased over time for those at highest risk.”
During the meeting, the advisory committee shared data from the CDC showing the odds of being hospitalized from COVID-19 if you are 65 years or older fell by 54% when the otherwise healthy person was vaccinated, NBC News reported.
The additional booster shots were not recommended for younger ages, but previous CDC recommendations include any American at an elevated risk, the CDC said.
Current COVID shot recommendations
The CDC recommends an updated COVID-19 booster shot to all Americans over the age of 5 no matter if you’ve had your initial round of vaccines.
Now, those over 65 should also receive a second booster shot under the new recommendation.
Children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years old should receive full vaccination, then an updated booster shot, the CDC says.
The vaccine is not recommended for children under the age of 6 months.
The COVID vaccine is safe for people anytime during their pregnancy or when they are breastfeeding, the CDC says, and may help protect your infant while they are ineligible for the shot.
During the ACIP meeting, a representative from the Food and Drug Administration, David Kaslow, noted a new vaccine booster may be available in the fall for the 2024-2025 season, STAT News reported.
The CDC recommends waiting four months between booster shots, and Kaslow noted anyone getting a spring booster should do so before June, according to the outlet. The CDC recommends waiting three months after a COVID-19 infection to get vaccinated.
Are COVID boosters here to stay?
It wouldn’t be the first time.
A new strain of the flu hit the United States in 1957, causing 116,000 deaths over the course of two years, according to the Mayo Clinic.
By 1960, health officials were recommending flu vaccines for high risk individuals, the clinic said, and a few decades later, in 2008, an annual shot was recommended for everyone.
But unlike the flu which has one peak season during the fall and winter, COVID-19 cases spike more than once each year.
“Annually for the past four years, there have been at least two and sometimes three periods of high community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” the CDC said on Feb. 23.
That means if boosters are recommended each year, it would likely be twice a year.
The virus is sticking around, the CDC says, but severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths are declining as the vaccination rate and immunity in the population increases.
“While other factors are involved, the increase in the percent of the population with COVID-19 antibodies indicates that rising population immunity is partially responsible for the decline in severity,” the agency said. “In January 2021, only 21% of people aged 16 years and older had COVID-19 antibodies. By the second half of 2023, 98% had antibodies from vaccination, prior infection, or both.”
The agency said 81% of Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of February.
Vaccine locations can be found here.
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