The updated Covid boosters from Pfizer and Modera should be available this week. They’re designed to provide protection against the original virus strain, as well as the widely circulating Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
The hope is this new booster will prevent another winter surge.
“I keep remembering the last two winters and what they looked like,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, an expert on infectious disease at the UC Berkely School of Public Health. “What we’re doing now by offering this new booster is to protect us against another bad winter that may very well occur.”
The new booster is for people who’ve already had their primary series, two Pfizer shots, two Moderna shots or one J&J.
Children 12 to 17 can only get the Pfizer booster. Those 18 and older can get either one.
“We have no studies that compare the new Pfizer booster to the new Moderna booster,” Dr. Swartzberg told me. “In the past, they’ve turned out to be pretty equivalent. So, my feeling is you can get either one.”
The recommendation is to wait at least two months after your last Covid shot to get the new booster, but Dr. Swartzberg says some people may want to wait longer.
“Generally speaking, these vaccines work better if they’re spaced out longer,” he said. “Ideally, it should be around six months since your last booster. Now, these are general recommendations. Individuals may have certain circumstances where they should get it sooner.”
If you plan to travel or attend a big event with a lot of people, getting the booster (if you qualify) a few weeks before would make sense.
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