The Center for Disease Control announced that Americans could receive a booster vaccine for COVID-19 eight months after they were administered their last dose. The booster vaccine will only be eligible for people who received the Pfizer vaccine; single-dose vaccines such as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be excluded.
According to the CDC, the people receiving the vaccine first will be groups that are at high risk. These groups include healthcare workers and the elderly. The FDA has not yet approved the booster, and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices hasn’t recommended the vaccine. The goal is for Americans to receive the booster this fall, if they are eligible.
According to Yale Medicine, the booster vaccine has been recommended by the Biden administration for people, but is waiting for further research on the shot before setting a rollout date. The World Health Organization, or WHO, says the booster vaccine is “not necessary” and will likely only be available in high-income countries like the US.
What is the booster vaccine? As the name suggests, the booster will increase a person’s immunity to COVID-19, in addition to the previous doses. This is different from an additional dose of the vaccine, which is usually only administered to severely immunocompromised individuals that did not build enough immunity from the previous doses of the vaccine.
Yale Medicine also advises the booster could prolong protective immunity, which means vaccinated people are immune to COVID-19 and associated strains for a longer period of time. According to Healthline, an American media provider of health information, side effects from the booster shot will be mild in comparison to previous doses.
“I will probably get the booster, I got the vaccine in June or July, as soon as I could, you could barely even feel the needle,” said Cal Ward, a sophomore.
Ward said she didn’t have any side effects apart from a sore arm. She does not have any concerns regarding the booster or the vaccine in general.
“I’m just happy I’m not going to get COVID,” .
Similarly, John Shaw, the HR manager at an art museum, says he will be getting the booster vaccine.
“Because I believe in science,” said Shaw, who teaches art history at college.
“I received my last dose of the vaccine in April” reported feeling flu-like symptoms from the first dose of the vaccine, such as a headache and other feelings, but did not have any adverse effects from the second dose. Shaw trusts the vaccine, as well as the new booster vaccine, citing research done by scientists in the field.
Shaw’s boss, whose husband is immunocompromised, has already received an additional dose of the vaccine.