Last week, the federal government authorized a second Covid-19 bivalent booster shot for two higher-risk populations: people 65 years and older and those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised.
The new recommendations also phase out the original monovalent vaccine that first became available in 2020. All vaccine-seekers going forward will receive the bivalent vaccine, which is more targeted to the strains of Covid currently circulating around the country.
Here’s what you need to know about the latest recommendations and the status of Covid vaccinations in Vermont.
Who is affected by the latest recommendations?
There are two different aspects of the new recommendations that affect different groups.
- The first is the recommendation that all people receive the bivalent vaccine rather than the monovalent one. That means anyone coming into a doctor’s office or pharmacy for a Covid dose will get the bivalent vaccine — people getting vaccinated for the first time, children who are newly qualified for a vaccine or people getting boosted after their first dose. Only one dose of the bivalent vaccine is recommended, rather than the two-dose primary course of the monovalent vaccine.
In February, the federal government issued revised recommendations for Covid vaccines for young children. Check the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website to find out more about what vaccines are recommended by age group.
- The recommendation for a second bivalent booster dose applies only to people 65 and older who received their first bivalent booster at least four months ago and immunocompromised people who got that booster at least two months ago.
The bivalent booster dose was introduced in September 2022 as an updated version of the vaccine. Sometimes called the Omicron booster, the bivalent vaccine targets the Omicron strains of the disease to bolster immunity to the now-dominant strain of the disease.
Why should I get the bivalent booster?
The latest recommendations come with a unique phrasing: Eligible people “may” get the second bivalent booster dose, rather than “should” get it.
Mark Levine, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, said that’s a reflection of the changing nature of the virus and the vaccine itself.
The federal committee in charge of making recommendations said there was insufficient data for getting a new booster every six months, but it did not want to deny people “the opportunity to get one, knowing what we understand of the concept of waning immunity,” Levine said.
“Those bits of data will eventually be out there, but right now that’s what we have,” he said. “And certainly for the immunocompromised population, I think most people would want to err on the side of doing more than less, knowing that their immune response is less robust from the start.”
As for people 65 and older, Levine said “it really is an individual decision based upon what they view their risk to be and what concerns they may have.”
The latest vaccines provide limited protection against Covid transmission, he said, but people may want to strengthen their protection against “more serious outcomes,” such as hospitalization, by getting one more booster to fight it.
Where can I get Covid vaccines?
All regular vaccine providers should carry only the bivalent vaccine going forward, Levine said. That includes doctor’s offices, pharmacies, community health centers and other vaccine providers listed on vaccines.gov.
Major pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Kinney Drugs have updated their websites to include the new guidance. The health department has more information on finding vaccine appointments on its website.
Levine said no walk-in vaccine clinics are planned for the latest bivalent booster unless something “dramatic” happens, such as a concerning new Covid variant.
“If we needed to have a mass vaccination site like we did before, I think we would do that,” he said.
The department plans to continue its outreach to certain populations, such as long-term care facilities and partner organizations for people of color, he said.
What’s the plan for Covid vaccines going forward?
These vaccine recommendations come amid falling Covid numbers throughout Vermont and the rest of the nation. Levine said he hopes this may be the first real summer since the pandemic began in March 2020 without a Covid surge at a national level.
“To me, if we have a good summer, we’ve reached ‘endemic’” stage of the virus, he said. “Because then I would expect this to sort of become more (like) influenza … when we expect it in the fall and winter and not in the summer months.”
Levine expects the federal government to eventually recommend a Covid booster for the general population in the fall, updated once again with the latest strains. With that in mind, the department has planned a break in Covid messaging this summer to gear up for a fall vaccination campaign combining Covid and the flu.
“Not only is there pandemic fatigue and vaccine fatigue, we don’t want there to be messaging fatigue either,” he said.