Monday Medical: Spring COVID-19 booster shots. Should you get one? And what’s the best timing? – Steamboat Pilot & Today

Its spring, the season for sweet strawberries, colorful tulips, crisp vegetables and a COVID-19 booster shot.

Health experts with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend an extra doseofthe 2023-24 COVID-19 vaccinefor all people in the U.S. ages 65 and older.

To help sort out the details about the new spring COVID-19 booster shot,Dr.Michelle Barron, UCHealthssenior medical director of infection prevention and control, answers a few common questions, below.

CDC experts recommend the booster for everyone ages 65 and older. In addition, people who are immunocompromised also have been eligible for extra doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Barron.

At this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults are having a tougher time when they get a bad case of COVID-19. Thats not surprising because immune systems in older people arent as strong as they are in the young, aside from younger people who are immunocompromised.

Here are some reasons why medical advisors to the CDC recommended a spring COVID-19 booster shot.

More than half of people who had to be hospitalized for COVID-19 between October and December of 2023 were older than age 65, according to CDC researchers.

Even four years into the pandemic, people continue to die of COVID-19, and people ages 65 and older have a much higher risk of dying of COVID-19 than younger people.People ages 75 and older were much more likely to die if they contracted COVID-19 than people who were sick with COVID-19 and were 65 to 74 years old.

Vaccine effectiveness wanes over time, so especially for vulnerable people, its great to give the immune system a boost in combating COVID-19 infections.

Youll want to wait at least four months since the last time you had a COVID-19 vaccine, Barron said.

No, if youve recently gotten sick with COVID-19, you should wait about three months.

You dont want to get your new shot until its been 90 days since your last COVID-19 episode, Barron said.

No, dont wait for the fall vaccine. Unless youve recently been sick with COVID-19, you should not wait to get a spring booster dose.

Vaccine makers and experts at the CDC are planning for newly formulated COVID-19 vaccines for the fall of 2024. Anyone who gets a booster this spring will also be eligible to get a dose of the newest COVID-19 vaccine this fall.

Yes.Even though vaccine effectiveness wanes over time, Barron said its still tremendously helpful to get COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots because they significantly reduce deaths and hospitalizations.

Barron thinksthe newest CDC guidelinessimplify things.

The message I have for all of this is to use good old-fashioned common sense. If you are sick, please dont visitagrandparentwhoisolder and vulnerable. Also, please dont spend time with your friend who is just finishing cancer treatments or visit a brand new baby, Barron said. All of those people are at risk for having complications if they get sick, regardless of the virus that were talking about.

Medical experts advise people to stay home and avoid contact with other people until at least 24 hours after they havehadsymptoms like a fever, bad cough or other signs of illness.

Once a persons fever breaks, they should still be cautious about exposing others since some people can remain contagious later. CDC experts encourage people to use good hygiene practices like frequent hand washing and wear a mask if theyre in crowded indoor settings. Its also wise to keep your distance from vulnerable people and take steps to be in well-ventilated areas.

What do you recommend as the right approach if people are sick, even if they havent gotten tested and dont know if they have COVID-19, the flu, RSV or a cold?

If you feel sick, and youre coughing, sneezing or cant eat or drink, you should stay home, Barron said. Whatever the cause, if you have a fever, you should not be at work or at school until youve no longer had a fever for at least 24 hours without taking anti-fever medications like Tylenol or ibuprofen.

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Monday Medical: Spring COVID-19 booster shots. Should you get one? And what's the best timing? - Steamboat Pilot & Today