Should you get a second COVID-19 booster dose? Top docs on Staten Island weigh in. – SILive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Nearly eight months after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light to administer COVID-19 booster doses, the number of new supplemental vaccinations being given has fallen precipitously after a winter spike, federal data shows.

Now, around a month after a second booster was authorized, top doctors on Staten Island are urging eligible residents to consider bolstering their protection against severe disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously backed a plan to provide second booster doses for people over the age or 50 and those who are 12 and older who also have underlying conditions that put them at greater risk for severe infection. The FDA approved those guidelines in late March.

However, while data indicated a second booster dose strengthened the bodys protection against severe infection after defenses created by an initial booster began to dissipate, research found that reinforced deterrent to severe disease quickly began to wane.

The rapid drop off in protection has caused controversy among experts over the strategy of continually using booster doses.

Still, as new infections have again begun to rise, forcing New York City into a yellow, or medium, alert level for community transmission, health officials continue to urge Staten Islanders especially those who are at higher risk to not underestimate the virulence of COVID-19.

FIRST BOOSTER VERY EFFECTIVE

The first booster dose has by far been shown to be very effective in terms of limiting ones ability to get very sick. Were not seeing people get as sick as opposed to those who are not boostered or have no vaccine, said Dr. Theodore Strange, chairman of medicine at Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH). The second booster has been more controversial.

Noting a diminished antibody response to a second booster dose, Strange still affirmed that the fourth shot was effective for people with depleted immune systems, including those who are going through chemotherapy or have diabetes, adding, it definitely did show a benefit to those at highest risk.

He is recommending his older patients get the latest booster dose and said he is also planning to get a fourth shot.

Dr. Philip Otterbeck, chairman of medicine at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, said strong evidence supports the authorization of a second booster dose for older and immunocompromised people.

While federal health authorities recommend anyone over the age of 50 receive the additional shot, Otterbeck said people over 60 should especially consider it because that was the particular group that tended to benefit from the second booster in international studies.

Otterbeck said he has received the first booster dose and will get the second when he is eligible.

The exteriors of Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze and Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton are shown in an undated composite. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)

MORE BOOSTERS IN FUTURE?

It remains unclear if more booster doses will be recommended in future months and years, if the virus will begin to be treated in a similar fashion to the way the common flu is handled with yearly shots or if the approach of continuing to administer booster doses will bring diminished returns over time.

Despite being more than two years into the pandemic, a litany of questions remain on the fronts of vaccine protection and long-term effects of the disease that has officially killed more than one million people in the United States and more than 2,300 Staten Islanders.

Anybody who thinks theyre an expert at this, theyre not an expert. Were all experts, but none of us are experts, said Strange, who added that additional research is especially needed to better understand how long protection from booster doses lasts.

I think we need to continue to watch it and follow the science, said Strange.

While highly infectious variants of the coronavirus, like omicron and its sub-lineage BA.2, have locally caused new spikes in positive cases, hospitals are not being strained as they were in earlier stages of the pandemic.

Just a few dozen people hospitalized on Staten Island had COVID-19, with some of those individuals admitted for reasons unrelated to their infection. Tools like vaccinations and therapeutics, along with improved understanding of how to manage the disease, have helped ameliorate COVID-19 treatment and prevent deaths.

FUTURE SURGES?

Still, Strange expressed concern that a noticeable shift in public attitude toward the pandemic, coupled with loosening restrictions, could create a recipe for future surges that claim the lives of more borough residents.

Im still concerned another variant will come along as we let our guard down with masking and other things, said Strange, who said that while he does not feel stringent lockdowns are needed, persistent testing and isolation strategies in condensed hotspots should remain.

Otterbeck echoed those sentiments and said the future phases of the pandemic will largely depend on the emergence and virulence of new variants.

COVID is probably not going to be going away, at least anytime soon, said Otterbeck. But, we need to learn to work with it and make sure were doing everything we can to protect the people of Staten Island and of course the people in this country.

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Should you get a second COVID-19 booster dose? Top docs on Staten Island weigh in. - SILive.com