Updated Booster Shots Expected Within Days as C.D.C. Signs Off
UPDATE September 27, 2020: The CDC has approved booster shots for certain groups, including teachers and adults 65 and older, and people ages 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions like heart disease or diabetes. I am in the last group: After six weeks of waiting, my second shot got me back into school. But many others waited longer before getting their booster, including some teachers who received theirs on Sept. 18. And now they’re being told it’s safe to return to class. That’s an answer of more than one hundred.
The United Kingdom now has more COVID vaccine
doses than what most of us expected it to receive upon approval for Pfizer boosters, but this is only a start. Moderns expect 50 million by year’s end — enough for just enough Americans to get a first shot or two for every 100 that want them. There are other countries where hundreds of millions will get theirs, but as with any vaccination program, there’s disagreement about how many, and how soon, the whole country needs. It may be a good idea to order your booster and wait until after everyone has had theirs before making a decision. That’s because the current mRNA vaccines have no such restrictions.
The initial plan was to have all adults
get at least one dose of the Pfizer version and complete the full series for themselves. (If it gets approved, people might get booster shots from Pfizer too.) But there’s a caveat — once inoculated with either the Pfizer or Modern versions, you can’t switch between them. So we asked if that would help, since so many American adults are over 65, even though almost half of all the US population is under 55 — and in line with some other nations like Belgium’s approach, those getting the Modena version can skip two shots if they want. A few other countries are testing that possibility too. Anthony Face, head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases
On Dec. 9, Modena asked its U.S. partner, McKesson Corp
which supplies CVS Health, Walgreens, and Amazon Prime Video to join forces to supply and distribute Modena boosters across the country. (That same week, Walmart did it for AstraZeneca). So far, Modena says more than 5 million doses have been distributed to various states. In addition to the extra doses it brought onto the market, Operation Warp Speed aims to deliver 1 billion doses by the end of December. Modena says it’s already manufactured 20 million more than originally expected (again, enough for 500 million people). To get started, you can sign up for a Modena email list to get updates soon (note, that this does not include Modena products).
So how much time should I wait? If someone has two shots
— but it takes both to complete the course of the illness — a little bit is fine. For example, if someone is just starting out with a Covid-19 vaccination, maybe they don’t even start with one and start with two. Or perhaps someone never feels sick and doesn’t need health care, and just wants a reminder. You don’t need to wait longer than a day; it might just be another reason to make sure you’re covered.
But if you’re looking for answers, here’s a rundown.
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