This is WHY You Should Get Another COVID-19 Vaccination
Summer is nearly over but the surge of problems resulting from COVID-19 are not. Hospitalizations due to this SARS-CoV-2 virus are up 8.7% over the last weekly reporting period. Deaths have also increased 4.5%. Covid-19 was responsible for 2.3% of all deaths in the US over the last week. This respiratory disease is the fifth leading cause of death in our country. Note that case numbers are no longer a reliable prevalence indicator because of less reporting from the states and rare home testing being reported. Nevertheless, wastewater surveillance is an ongoing tool for monitoring the existence of the virus. This method shows the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in community sewage. Genomic testing of the available viruses (wastewater and lab) estimated that the EG.5 subvariant of the Omicron variant represents 25% of the US strains with the other XBB subvariants representing over 50% of the remaining strains. It is clear that the virus continues to mutate as proliferation continues, even though it has slowed markedly since the COVID-19 peak.
As the presence and consequences of the virus continue, we as citizens must continue to be responsible for our own healthcare decisions. We have been able to emerge from the pandemic to a large extent, because of the immunity imparted by effective vaccinations and the massive numbers of those who became infected. It is estimated that 97% of US citizens 16 years of age and older had developed antibodies as the result of either vaccination or infection. A testament to this is the nearly 50% reduction in COVID-19 death rate between the end of 2021 vs. the end of 2022. Vaccination availability since December 2020 has been essential and a factor in preventing death and severe illness for more people earlier in the pandemic. Initially many people who got COVID-19 succumbed so the immunity benefit of having survived illness were not realized. The virus has followed the biological behavior of mutating as it has been proliferating over the last three years. The beauty of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna is that they can be targeted to the changes in the virus. These sorts of adjustments in the vaccines have indeed been occurring. It is therefore wise to take the updated vaccinations as they become available, especially for older Americans and those who are immunocompromised.
Although our scientists are keeping up with the changes and mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the detailed processes, and clinical trials necessary for authorization of new vaccines, sometimes lags behind. Case in point is this new vaccine (aka XBB.1.5 vaccine) that was approved by the FDA and CDC on September 12, 2023. At the time (June 2023) when for the next generation of vaccines was occurring, the XBB.1.5 subvariant composed 30.3% of the subvariants. On September 2nd XBB.1.5, for which the new vaccine was targeted, was only 3.1%. The good news is that the new vaccine is effective against the now most prevalent EG.5 subvariant as well as the very close relative XBB.1.5. Research shows that all of these Omicron XBB subvariants are very similar in structure. At the time of this new approval, the FDA also withdrew the authorization for the “bivalent vaccine” which had been approved in September 2022, since the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, for which it was approved, are no longer in existence in the USA.
After intense study we now have an updated vaccine available and recommended for every American older than 6 months of age. If the past is indeed prologue, getting Americans to take this new vaccine will be a challenge. Concern is present considering that only 17% of Americans received the bivalent booster that was available for nearly a year. Whether one’s immunity is attained after vaccination or/and COVID-19 illness, the protection wanes over time. A higher level of immunity occurs subsequent to illness after vaccination (hybrid immunity). This hybrid immunity decreases 50% in a four-month period in people who are immunocompromised and those 65 years of age and older.
Protect yourself and the vulnerable ones around you by getting your newly updated vaccine, especially if you are immunocompromised or 65 or older. Remember your annual flu vaccine can be administered at the same time!
