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What you need to know
- It’s likely that everyone will be eligible for an annual COVID-19 booster going forward.
- There isn’t enough data yet to support more than one booster per year for older adults or immunocompromised people, but this could change.
- Staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines remains important. The COVID-19 virus continues to send thousands of people to the hospital every day in the U.S.
Earlier this year, the FDA proposed simplifying the COVID-19 booster process by making it a once-a-year shot. Since then, there has been a lot of discussion about the idea and whether high-risk populations will need more than one booster per year. ACIP—the CDC’s outside advisory group—met last week and determined that, for now, data supports everyone getting no more than one annual COVID-19 booster. Here’s the latest on what you can expect.
Will you need an annual COVID-19 booster?
It’s likely that everyone will be eligible for one COVID-19 booster per year going forward. Much like the annual flu shot process, the idea is that scientists would come together by early summer each year to decide which COVID-19 virus strains to target. An updated COVID-19 vaccine would then be produced and launched by the fall. Adopting an annual COVID-19 vaccine schedule would mean that people no longer have to keep track of how many shots they’ve received and how long it’s been since their last dose.
Will high-risk individuals be able to get more than one booster per year?
No, but this could change. Last week, ACIP determined that there isn’t enough data yet to support more than one booster per year for older adults or immunocompromised people. So far, data on our current bivalent boosters shows that protection against infection has fallen, but protection against hospitalization remains strong for everyone. Since the goal is to prevent severe disease, there doesn’t seem to be a need right now to recommend another booster shot for vulnerable populations. This guidance could change, however, if the protection offered by the updated vaccines appears to be wearing off or if the COVID-19 virus mutates significantly.
Why are boosters important?
COVID-19 is still sending thousands of people to the hospital every day in the U.S. Staying up to date on vaccines is the best way to avoid such an outcome. We know that COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness wears off over time, so it’s important to get boosted regularly in order to stay protected. Our current bivalent boosters are especially crucial for older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and people with underlying medical conditions, as these are the populations at high risk for severe disease.