Recently, there has been a lot of information in the news about COVID-19 boosters in people that have already been fully vaccinated. There is some evidence that vaccines may start to lose full effectiveness after a few months, but there is other evidence that protection may last for years. With the current outbreak of the Delta variant, a fair number of people who have been fully vaccinated are still contracting COVID-19, but it is important to note that these breakthrough infections are almost always mild and do not lead to severe disease or death. These are my thoughts on COVID-19 vaccine boosters:
Having said all this, is also true that there have been over a million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that have gone to waste in the US because they have expired or not enough people are choosing to get them. Our office is currently receiving only excess vaccine doses from health facilities that cannot use them, and we are not ordering them directly from the government. From my standpoint, instead of letting these doses go to waste when they expire, I would rather have someone receive them as a booster shot, even before we have definitive evidence that they are beneficial. I feel that as long as there is a chance that a booster shot will be beneficial, and any risks from the shot are negligible, it would be worth putting that vaccine in someone’s arms as opposed to in the trash can. To that end, we are now accumulating a list of people who are interested in receiving a booster shot. Because the data have not come back yet, we cannot say if it would be better to get the same manufacturer as your first vaccine or a different one. We will prioritize individuals over age 65 and those on immunosuppressive medications first, as these individuals are likely going to be the first that will receive approval for a booster shot if and when it is needed. If you are interested, please send us a message through the portal or email us at [email protected] and let us know your name, phone number, and which vaccines you are willing to come in for.
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