The Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for an updated booster vaccine designed to target the latest subvariants of the COVID-19 Virus. Chad Thury, DO is the Medical Director of Clinical Quality for the Avera Medical Group and sat down with Dakota News Now to provide insight on what people can expect with this new vaccine.
COVID cases are on the rise, what should people do to protect themselves?
I think the big thing is to recognize what we've been talking about this for a number of years now, it's just being diligent, especially if you are someone that has some chronic medical problems or are at an elderly age. It really is just being cognizant of where you're going, what you're doing, maybe put a mask on, and really staying up to date on vaccinations. The biggest thing we can do is the prevention and that’s getting vaccinated. We know what's coming, it's respiratory season. Be proactive and do what you can to help prevent getting these infections.
How well is this new booster vaccine expected to work?
The booster shots are going to be just as effective as the other COVID vaccinations that we've had historically. It's geared toward the kind of the current circulating variants that are out right now. For most people, it's I guess they're getting away from the term “booster.” It's more of an updated vaccine. I think getting the annual COVID shot is going to be the same as getting the annual flu shot going forward, but we still continue to see that those who have chronic medical conditions, those that are over age 65 in particular, are still at high risk for complications. We also know from data, that the people that are not up-to-date on the most recent COVID vaccination are at higher risk compared to those that have not been staying up-to-date on vaccination.
When should I get the vaccination?
It goes back to the waning immunity that we get with some of these vaccinations or viral illnesses. We're used to doing annual flu shots. The same thing's going to be true for COVID. Just need to make sure we're doing those annual vaccinations to boost that immunity as we get into the cold and flu season.
Can I get it at the same time as the flu vaccine?
It depends. For influenza, I generally say, try and get it by the end of September into October. If you get to Halloween, that's usually too late. So that's kind of the timeframe for the flu shot. For COVID, just because we're starting to see a bump already in the number of COVID cases that are out there. I would not delay it. I would tell patients and people to get in as soon as they can here within the next week as the vaccine is going to become available at retail pharmacies, clinics and so on.
How much will it cost me?
In most cases, the new COVID vaccine is going to be covered by insurances. The nice thing is, that the government is going to have a bridge access program where it's going to cover people over the next year through December of 2024 for people that have no insurance or are underinsured. Then for children, they still have the Vaccine for Children program that allows coverage or payment for kids that don't have insurance or are underinsured. So the message is clear, if you want a COVID shot, there's going to be a way to get it with little or no cost to people.
How many boosters will I need?
For most people, it's going to be a one shot. If you're an adult or over the age of five, you just need one shot with this with this new COVID vaccine that's come out. For younger kids, it takes a little while for that immunity to build up and they're still recommended for kids under five. You can start getting it at six months of age up to age five, then they're going to recommend doing the three-part vaccination series with Pfizer. Moderna is a two-part series and if kids have already started one of those series, at least one shot and is recommended to be this new Monovalent vaccine that's coming out.
Are there any side effect to be aware of?
It's a very safe vaccine. It's been around for a number of years now. The main things are going to be your arm aching a little bit at the site of vaccination and you maybe will be feeling a little sore for 24 to 48 hours.
