Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Is Now Available and Helpful!

During this summer of 2024, twenty-five states are seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases. The SARS-CoV-2 wastewater levels are “very high” in thirty-three states, including California, Texas, and Florida; and “high” in eleven other states. The usual summer surges are fueled by increased summer travel, people gathering indoors to avoid the summer heat, and new variants developing or reaching our shores. New variants continue to be bothersome, as predicted a couple of years ago. Recall that the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 was responsible for the increase in hospitalizations and deaths in the fall of 2021. Our current surge is being caused by a subvariant of the Omicron variant called JN.1. More specifically, a dominant strain of the JN.1 is named KP.3.1.1. It is responsible for 37% of the US cases seen during the middle two weeks of August. The exceptionally good news is that hospitalizations and deaths are not increasing this summer. Nevertheless, it remains protocol that if you test positive, you should be in isolation for five days and mask up to 10 days, when around others. If you are at high risk and test positive, then contact your physician for additional treatment, as necessary. See www.CDC.gov/covid for more specific details.

The increase in US cases is also due to our “herd immunity” decreasing since the natural immunity inferred on people who were infected in 2020-2022 has dwindled away, and because most people have not gotten recent vaccines. Although it is recommended that everyone 6 months of age and older get a vaccination, only 22.5% of adults and 14.4% of children have complied.

In recognition of the new variants that develop continuously, vaccine makers are developing new shots probably on a yearly basis. Most recently both Pfizer and Moderna have new mRNA vaccines that have been approved and granted emergency use authorization by the FDA on August 22, 2024. These new vaccines have been shown to help prevent hospitalization and death, especially in those who are susceptible to severe outcomes from COVID-19.

You can receive your annual flu vaccine and if necessary, the “one time” RSV vaccine at the same time of your new COVID-19 shot. If you are a person who is at high risk, it is strongly recommended that you get your updated vaccinations. The updated Covid-19, seasonal flu, and the RSV vaccines are currently available in your local pharmacies. Protect yourself and those who are vulnerable that might be in your presence.

Clyde E. Henderson, MD, Cincinnati Medical Association