For millions of Americans, receiving a flu shot is an annual ritual. With an updated COVID-19 vaccine now available, Americans should consider adding it to their fall custom — particularly vulnerable populations.
On Sept. 11, the Food and Drug Administration approved emergency use authorization for updated COVID-19 vaccines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended boosters for people 6 months and older. The new booster targets XBB.1.5, a recent omicron strain variant.
In contrast to misinformation that has surrounded the COVID pandemic, vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective. They are imperfect; much like flu shots, they do not entirely prevent the spread of the disease. But they reduce that spread and they limit its symptoms. Those who have been vaccinated are less likely to require hospitalization or to die from COVID.
The first vaccines were administered on Dec. 8, 2020, about nine months after the first reports of COVID infections in the United States. In 2022, a study published in The Lancet found: “Vaccinations prevented 14.4 million deaths from COVID-19 in 185 countries and territories between Dec. 8, 2020, and Dec. 8, 2021. This estimate rose to 19.8 million deaths from COVID-19 averted when we used excess deaths as an estimate of the true extent of the pandemic, representing a global reduction of 63 percent in total deaths.”
The COVID pandemic arrived at a unique time in American history. Political acrimony made the populace particularly susceptible to disagreements about how best to avoid and treat a new disease. And 20 years of misinformation about other vaccines — particularly the MMR shot (measles, mumps, rubella) — had fostered doubt among the public.
But there is no question that widespread use of the COVID-19 vaccine reduced the spread of the virus and allowed American society to return to something resembling normalcy. Gone are government-mandated shutdowns of schools and businesses; gone is the widespread use of masks in public. We have made a tacit agreement to live with COVID as a fact of life.
But that fact is still with us. In its most recent report, Clark County Public Health said COVID-19 accounted for 5.7 percent of emergency room visits during the final week of September, continuing a gradual increase in recent weeks. As Marissa Armstrong, communications director for the health department said: “The fall and into the winter is when we see respiratory illnesses in general increase. We certainly wouldn’t be surprised if we started to see increases in COVID, influenza and RSV in the coming months.”
From November 2022 to February of this year, according to the CDC, COVID contributed to approximately 48,000 deaths in the United States; influenza played a role in approximately 6,500 deaths during that same period.
That does not mean all Americans should receive a COVID shot or a booster; nor does it mean that vaccinations are worthless. As Natalie Dean of Emory University told Science magazine: “I just want people to have tempered expectations. There is room for reasonable debate about how much added value there is for a young, healthy person.”
But it does mean that consideration of a COVID shot should be added to the annual ritual of deciding whether or not to receive an influenza shot.
We are entering respiratory illness season, and that calls for thoughtful consideration about what is best for you and your family.
