Federal government approves COVID boosters, and Florida advises against them. What should you do?
Within 48 hours of federal officials saying the new COVID booster is available and recommended for everyone 6 months and older, Florida’s surgeon general Joseph Ladapo cautioned Floridians under 65 not to get one.
Updated versions of the existing Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been formulated to target a relatively recent omicron subvariant called XBB. 1.5. and should be available at local pharmacies such as CVS as early as Thursday.
Immunologists and infectious disease experts across the country say you will get a boost in immunity within about two weeks after getting the shot that could reduce your risk of coming down with COVID. In addition, the boost in protection against severe disease from the newest shot should last a lot longer.
However, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo held a news conference on Wednesday to announce he will issue guidance that recommends and advises against the booster for anyone younger than 65. Ladapo, who has spoken out repeatedly against mRNA COVID vaccines, said, “I just think at this point with the amount of immunity that is in the community, and virtually every walking human being having some level of immunity, and the questions we have about safety and effectiveness, especially about safety, my judgment is this is not a good decision for people who are not at high risk at this point in the pandemic.”
On May 5, the World Health Organization declared the global Public Health Emergency was over, more than three years after COVID-19 was designated as a pandemic. The group says that 6.95 million people have died from coronavirus as of Sept. 6.
During Florida’s news conference Wednesday, Ladapo and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis brought in doctors to refute that enough evidence exists to assure the safety of the vaccines. Ladapo even suggested that the booster could lead to increased risk of infection, noting a few small studies.
“People who are older making a decision whether or not to take the booster should not be misled into thinking that there are clinical trials of the boosters that are indicating they will benefit, since that isn’t true,” Ladapo said. He announced that he will make physicians in the state aware of this information in his new guidance.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America also held a news conference on Wednesday to provide information and recommend the COVID boosters.
Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, liaison to CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said each individual should weigh their own risks and benefits. The risk of death or severe illness from getting COVID is much lower for younger, healthy people.
Factors to consider, he said, are the possibility of spreading COVID to someone who is more vulnerable, your individual potential for COVID exposures, and whether you are willing to take measures like wearing a mask in crowds during respiratory illness season.
“For some health conditions it’s a slam dunk,” he said. “but the booster can offer some benefit for everyone.”
Duchin said if it’s been at least two months since your last booster or three months since you had the COVID virus, you are eligible to get the new shot.
CDC data shows the highest rate of COVID hospitalizations are in people 75 and older, followed by babies 6 months and younger, and then adults between the ages of 65 to 74. In Florida, COVID hospitalizations have risen over the last four weeks, as has the prevalence of the virus in most counties.
Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.