A panel of doctors and scientists advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Wednesday to recommend people 65 and over — a group of people particularly vulnerable to the virus — get a second dose of an updated COVID vaccine that became available last fall.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Mandy Cohen endorsed the recommendation soon afterward.
“An additional vaccine dose can provide added protection that may have decreased over time for those at highest risk,” said Cohen in a press release.
COVID hospitalizations are far higher among seniors than other age groups. In fact, over the past year, hospitalization rates among those 65 and older have been about five times higher than those who are between the ages 50 to 64, according to data presented at the Wednesday meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
“It is devastating to see how many elderly and immunocompromised are being admitted to the hospital, are in the ICU and dying from COVID,” said Dr. Camille Kotton, a member of the committee.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Getting additional COVID shots can bolster defenses against serious illness, including reducing the risk of hospitalizations, according to the CDC. An additional shot could also restore some degree of protection which may have waned since the dose last fall.
The vaccinations are no longer called “boosters” since the formula was changed last year and because health officials want the public to think of them like a routine vaccine.
But even among the highest-risk groups, few have chosen to take the latest vaccine. While older people can now get a second dose of the updated COVID vaccine, most haven’t even received a single dose of this updated vaccine, designed to target more recent versions of this ever-changing virus.
Those getting an additional dose this spring should wait at least four months after the first dose of the updated vaccine, according to the CDC.
Kotton called it “shocking” to see the low uptake of the latest COVID among those at highest risk of severe disease including older adults and those who are immunocompromised. Kotton was among several members who made a case for the language of the recommendation be changed from a softer “may” get the vaccine to a stronger “should” get the vaccine to avoid confusion over whether it’s recommended or not.
“I think we really need to provide clarity on this, and for me, this is a life or death situation for many of the patients I take care of,” said Kotton.
Here’s a look at data for people over 65 in Georgia:
COVID vaccination rates: Nationally, 41% of people 65 and older took the updated vaccine since it was released last year, the highest vaccination rate of any age group. That rate is much lower in Georgia, where about 22% of people 65 and older took the shot, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
COVID hospitalizations: People over 60 represent the majority of COVID hospitalizations, according to the CDC. Each day, an average of 25 Georgians ages 60 to 69 were admitted to the hospital for COVID during the week ending Feb. 17. For that same time period, an average of 62 people aged 70 or older were admitted each day.
COVID deaths: Since the pandemic began, people ages 60 and older made up 81% of the state’s approximately 36,000 COVID deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
