Lethe200
Senior Member
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
With COVID summer wave underway, when should you get your next vaccine shot?
SF Chronicle July 11, 2024
(edited for length)
For a while, the answer to that question seemed simple: once a year, in the fall, when an updated vaccine comes out that’s tailored to target the coronavirus strain that federal health officials believe will be circulating then. Often people get one in conjunction with their annual flu shot.
The best moment to get another shot is different for everyone because people vary widely in when they got their last shot and when they last had COVID — both of which influence the timing of the next shot.
High risk individuals: Adults 65 and older, especially those vulnerable due to underlying medical conditions and those who live in nursing homes, as well as immunocompromised people of all ages.
Healthy young individuals:
The XBB vaccine was 62% effective at preventing COVID hospitalization and 58% effective at preventing COVID emergency department and urgent care visits, compared to people who did not get the XBB vaccine, according to a June study in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The study looked at thousands of adults who went to Kaiser Southern California hospitals for COVID care between October and December 2023. XBB vaccines were released Sept 2023, and “provided statistically significant additional protection against a range of COVID-19 outcomes.”
Note that older versions of the COVID vaccine offered little, if any, protection for high-risk individuals against the newer COVID strains, per the study.
SF Chronicle July 11, 2024
(edited for length)
For a while, the answer to that question seemed simple: once a year, in the fall, when an updated vaccine comes out that’s tailored to target the coronavirus strain that federal health officials believe will be circulating then. Often people get one in conjunction with their annual flu shot.
The best moment to get another shot is different for everyone because people vary widely in when they got their last shot and when they last had COVID — both of which influence the timing of the next shot.
High risk individuals: Adults 65 and older, especially those vulnerable due to underlying medical conditions and those who live in nursing homes, as well as immunocompromised people of all ages.
- Get one now, IF it has been at least 4 months since your most recent shot, or 3 months since having a coronavirus infection.
Healthy young individuals:
- Even if they only got the original vaccine in 2021 but no boosters, they remain pretty well-protected against severe COVID.
- To prevent any infection at all, get the latest vaccine booster this Fall 2024.
- If traveling with lots of socializing or in crowds, getting the Fall 2024 booster is recommended.
The XBB vaccine was 62% effective at preventing COVID hospitalization and 58% effective at preventing COVID emergency department and urgent care visits, compared to people who did not get the XBB vaccine, according to a June study in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The study looked at thousands of adults who went to Kaiser Southern California hospitals for COVID care between October and December 2023. XBB vaccines were released Sept 2023, and “provided statistically significant additional protection against a range of COVID-19 outcomes.”
Note that older versions of the COVID vaccine offered little, if any, protection for high-risk individuals against the newer COVID strains, per the study.
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