NEW YORK (AP) — Older Americans should roll up their sleeves another time. COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) An influential government advisory committee said Wednesday that even if people receive booster shots in the fall, vaccination will be difficult.
The committee resolves that Americans 65 and older should be revaccinated with the latest vaccine available in September if at least four months have passed since their last dose. passed 11-1. The committee will advise the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will decide whether to approve the recommendation.
The committee's decision came after a lengthy debate over whether to say older people “may” or “should” be vaccinated. This reflects debate among experts about how much more stimulus is needed and whether further recommendations would further boost national growth. vaccine fatigue.
Some doctors say most older adults are well protected with fall shots, based on immunity from previous vaccinations and exposure to the virus itself. And preliminary research to date shows no real abatement of this trend. Vaccine effectiveness Over 6 months.
However, the body's defenses caused by vaccines tend to wear off over time, and this happens sooner in older people than in other adults. The committee had recommended booster vaccinations against COVID-19 for older adults in 2022 and 2023.
COVID-19 remains dangerous, especially for older people.There are many more 20,000 people hospitalized and more 2,000 deaths weekly due to the coronavirus, according to the CDC. And for people over 65, Highest hospitalization and mortality rates.
Some members of the advisory committee said the “should” recommendations were intended to give doctors and pharmacists a clearer push to recommend vaccinations.
“Most people are coming in either wanting the vaccine or not wanting the vaccine,” said Dr. Jamie Lauer, a commissioner and family physician in Ithaca, New York. “We're trying to make it easier for providers to say, 'Yes, we recommend this.'”
In September, the government issued new recommendations. COVID-19 shot recipes It was built against a version of the coronavirus called XBB.1.5. This single-target vaccine was replaced by a combination vaccine that targeted both the original coronavirus strain and the much earlier Omicron type.
CDC Recommended new shots The vaccine is open to all people over 6 months of age, and even people with weak immune systems are allowed to receive a second dose two months after the first dose.
Most Americans aren't listening. According to the latest data from the CDC, 13% of U.S. children have been vaccinated and about 22% of U.S. adults have been vaccinated. Vaccination rates among adults 65 and older are high at nearly 42%.
“Each time we get a vaccine, uptake goes down,” said Dr. David Canady, an infectious disease expert at Case Western Reserve University who studies COVID-19 infections in older adults.
“People are tired of getting these shots all the time,” said Cannady, who does not serve on the committee. “We need to be careful about over-recommending vaccines.”
But some Americans, people at higher risk of severe illness or death, are asking whether they should be allowed a booster shot, said a vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University who discusses vaccinations. said Dr. William Schaffner, a member of the committee workgroup. Booster question.
In fact, the group's biggest concern about vaccines is whether they are effective enough, according to CDC survey data.
Agency officials say 50% fewer people who have been vaccinated with the latest version of the coronavirus vaccine become ill after coming into contact with the virus than those who were not vaccinated in the fall.
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