Slow Uptake of Bivalent COVID Booster
Three weeks in, only 4.4 million Americans have gotten the shot.
Reuters (“U.S. rollout of new COVID boosters off to slow start“):
Updated COVID-19 boosters have gone into 4.4 million arms in the United States since a new revaccination campaign began three weeks ago, government data shows, a slower pace for the shots targeting the Omicron variant of the coronavirus than the rollout of the first boosters last year.
[…]
Last year, when the United States initially authorized COVID boosters just for older and immunocompromised people, nearly 10 million received their third shot in the first three weeks.
The latest data, released late on Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), did show increased interest in the Omicron shots over demand for the older boosters during the previous three weeks.
In those three weeks, about 930,000 people received booster shots of the old vaccines available to those aged 50 and older or at risk for severe disease, according to CDC data.
I got mine Thursday morning, along with a first round of Shingrix. Oddly, while I had mild flu-like symptoms roughly 26 hours after my second dose of Moderna last March and my Moderna booster last November, I had no side effects from the Moderna bivalent. The Shingrix sent me to bed shivering uncontrollably at about the 10-hour mark.
As I’ve noted before, even though I’m over 50, I did not get the authorized second booster of the original vaccine, judging the side effects worse than the minimal gain. I’d have probably gone ahead and gotten it at the one-year mark, along with a flu shot, if the bivalent hadn’t come out. I figured that targeted protection against the newer variants was worth risking side effects.
Regardless, I can certainly see why people would be reluctant to get boosted if they’re not in a high-risk category. Shots kind of suck and the benefits of the vaccine are considerably less than initially hoped. Combined with a sense, communicated even by President Biden, that the pandemic is over there’s just not much urgency.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, said he expects demand for the updated shots to be low, “as has been the case with boosters from the very beginning.”
“I think that stems from kind of the poor messaging in the way this booster campaign and prior booster campaigns have been managed, as political issues rather than focusing on where boosters are going to beneficial,” he said.
That focus should be on high-risk populations and those aged 65 and over, Adalja added.
The politicization of the virus, most notably by former President Trump and other Republican leaders but to some extent by public health officials as well, has considerably lowered the public’s trust in messaging on this. I agree that high-risk patients should be highly encouraged to get boosted (and flu shots!). Otherwise, it makes sense to me to communicate the benefits of the bivalent dose and let those who want it get it. I’ll likely get my kids boosted soon.
I was born abroad and my yellow WHO shot record is multiple books stapled together. The first Shingrix shot is the only one in memory that completely flattened me. It was a doozy, but in my estimation well worth it–I’ve known a few people who have had shingles and it seems horrific (one had it in his EYES, which is apparently a thing).
On the booster–I need to wait a bit longer as I had intentionally delayed getting my 4th booster to time it with travel I was taking. As soon as I can get it, around mid-October, I’ll go in and get mine.
Kathy made the observation that declaring the pandemic as over would potentially have this effect. I think that’s part of this, but also having 5 vaccinations over the course of 2+ years just feels like a lot. For those who are needles-adverse, it isn’t just wearying, but stressful.
I’ll do whatever medical experts ask. A friend of mine, who is terrified of needles only got her primary Pfizer vaccination, no boosters. She came down with covid this summer, and was sick for nearly 2 solid weeks.
Between Shingrix, flu shots and all the COVID boosters, I have had no fewer than 10 immunizations over the past 3 years.
My immune system is well educated.
Given the wastewater results of my community – which shows 100% BA.4 and BA.5 variants, I saw no reason to skip the bivalent shot. After 30 months of COVID, my wife and I have not had so much as a sniffle, and I’m not about to let my guard down now, particularly when it comes to merely going to get a free immunization at the CVS within walking distance.
House Moderna for the win.
I’m going to get mine at my company October 12, as it’s been added to the annual on-site flu shot. I wonder if a lot of people are doing the same.
FWIW, I’ve had all four COVID jabs with almost no side effects, but I had a noticeable one to Shingrex.
My wife and I had to wait for the bivalent shot because we had a regular booster in July, but we can get it now. There’s not a lot of urgency but we will definitely get it before the holidays.
My mom was in the hospital for the last week, initially COVID was suspected but it wasn’t that, just regular old West Nile Virus. Fortunately she’ll be fine but it was really scary for a few days.
@Jen:
Well, that was an easy prediction to make.
I don’t think people understand variants. We keep hearing about waning immunity, but not that the first vaccines don’t target variants. We keep hearing about antibodies, but not about T cell response, nor memory T and B cells.
We don’t know how effective the bivalent booster will be, because no trials were carried out. Therefore it’s hard to say whether they will prevent Omicron infection or not. Chances are they will, but with the low uptake we may not see much of an effect.
I keep asking for the shingles vaccine but they won’t let ne have it
@Kathy: I’m not sure why you are saying “we don’t hear about variants”. I hear about them all the time from all kinds of sources. Now, if you are saying that a lot of people have stopped listening, I would agree.
@Stormy Dragon: Is there an age requirement?
My ex-father-in-law had shingles a while back and I swear that it aged him 5 years in the span of a few months while he had it. I don’t know if that’s a thing, but I’d be happy to get the vaccine whenever I’m scheduled to.
Also looking to get the flu and bivalent shot at the same time. I haven’t called yet but I have an overdue physical so hopefully I can take care of everything in one visit.
@Franklin:
Age 50 and up.
Obligatory bothsides noted. There used to be an argument that W was worse than TFG because W caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in Iraq. TFG’s gotta be close, and all Americans. FOXGOP, and the money behind them, are going to destroy the country.
I got boosted at the end of April so I have to wait another month (if I have that right). I’ll get the flu and the 2nd shingrix then too.
@OzarkHillbilly: I got my 2nd booster in May and got this most recent one this past Monday so I don’t think there is any specific waiting period. Or if there is, it doesn’t seem to be enforced in any meaningful way.
I was waiting for the bi-valent booster to be approved and got the news it had been in an email from Walgreens inviting me to make an appointment for it, along with a flu shot, starting the next day. I was disappointed to see that only a couple of appointment slots had been taken, and when my wife and I went in that next day there was no one else getting shots.
That’s two vax and three boosters. So far, a slightly stiff shoulder for a couple hours. And my vax card is getting hard to read. Somebody didn’t plan ahead for multiple boosters.
@gVOR08: They gave me a 2nd card. If this keeps up I may get them spiral bound.
@Stormy Dragon: @Mikey: As best I can tell, while Shingrix is strongly recommended for age 50 and up, there’s no minimum age requirement. Indeed, many doctors are frustrated at the messaging because younger people are susceptible as well. A colleague in his 40s contracted the disease months ago and is still suffering after-effects.
@gVOR08: I was clear in that sentence that the overwhelming blame is with one party. But it’s simply indisputable that public health officials intentionally misled the public multiple times along the way for political purposes and have thereby squandered trust. I don’t blame them for being slow to recognize that the disease was airborne and that wiping everything down with industrial cleaners was useless or that the virus essentially doesn’t transmit outdoors; science is about making the best guesses with the available evidence and adjusting. But they lied to us on masks to keep from sparking a run on limited supplies. And, lately, they’ve been bending over backward in the other direction—intentionally downplaying the risks to accommodate a policy of reopening and normalization. Overnight, they simply turned the country from mostly at-risk to mostly safe.
@MarkedMan:
You may have read too fast.
Breakthrough infections are rampant. My point is that this is due to vaccines that do not target the current variant, Omicron, and not due to waning immunity.
At that, the original strain vaccines did rather well against Delta, around 30-40% efficacy. Which is why boosters, to increase circulating antibodies, were implemented in the first place. But original strain boosters did little against Omicron.
@James Joyner:
Okay, edit button or no, I’m only making the quote blocks worse by trying to fix them
@Kathy:
Thanks what I was commenting on. I hear it all the time.
Got mine but the 5g signal to my phone still hasn’t improved so I’m not sure why I bothered.
@Jon: OK, thanx. I shan’t wait then.
@Argon: With the Moderna you can just ditch the phone.
@James Joyner:
I dispute this assessment of “public health officials.” There was a grand conspiracy of public health officials across states, counties, cities, countries and ideological lines to all mislead and lie to the public?
When and where did all these “public health officials” coordinate this scheme? Sounds a bit conspiratorial.
More plausible that public health officials were (and are) balancing risks on the fly, based on shifting data both about a never-before-seen pathogen and about the public’s behavioral limitations.
Public health recommendations don’t exist in a vacuum. It does no good to insist on behaviors for which adherence is low. Pretending otherwise is why abstinence-only education fails. Harm reduction models exist for a reason.
The same person who says it’s self-evident that “the pandemic is over” also slams public health officials for “downplaying risks.” Lol wut? What risk is being downplayed? Is the pandemic over or not? Will y’all make up your minds?
You try being a public health official and tailoring recommendations to this typically-American schizophrenia, but on a national scale. Good luck.
Per Seattle Weekly:
To the best of my knowledge, none of those doses made it down to Southwest Washington where I live. Probably because King County is still having 300 or so new cases a week (according to a report Sept 1). I’m not seeing any reluctance; all I can see is “wait your turn.” Just like the last time.
@Just nutha ignint cracker: Good point. I intentionally waited a couple of weeks to book an appointment because we’re a very high uptake area and still couldn’t get one close by. I finally scheduled one down in Woodbridge, which is further south and not far off the path to work. I could have driven right to an opening there.