According to a University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics announcement on The Loop, 2nd booster doses were available to employees, volunteers, and patients starting April 4, 2022.
Category: COVID-19 vaccines
Permissive Recommendation for Covid Vaccine 2nd Booster?
I have a question about the permissive recommendation by the CDC for the 2nd Covid vaccine booster. Does that mean I should get the booster or that I can get it if I just want one?
There’s an important distinction between “should” and “can.” According to the AMA, the CDC gave permissive recommendation, which means that it’s not saying you should get it, but that you can if you so choose:
“The CDC’s action is commonly known as a “permissive recommendation,” meaning that certain people may get the second booster if they wish to get it, though the agency itself is not yet officially urging them to do so.”
There are a couple of recently updated tables on the CDC website in which the language is clearly permissive about the 2nd booster dose. One is dated April 2, 2022, Stay Up to Date with Your Covid-19 Vaccines. The other is dated April 1, 2022, Covid-19 Vaccine Boosters.
Some of us may be finding it challenging to get the booster scheduled right now. I wonder if that means even those providing the booster might be wondering who should or should not get one.
Does vaccine supply have a bearing on the issue? Or is there significant uncertainty about the necessity for the 2nd booster?
I wonder if experts are waiting for further guidance from the scheduled FDA Advisory Committee meeting on April 6, 2022.
That’s this coming Wednesday. I’d like to listen to the meeting as I have in the past, but I have a schedule conflict that day. That’s not the only conflict I have.
No officials are clearly saying that I should not get the 2nd booster. On the other hand, neither are they clearly saying I should.
Maybe I’ll wait for an FDA update after the April 6 meeting. And I wonder if that will lead to a CDC Advisory Committee meeting.
Update April 5, 2022: Here’s a link to a new article on CDC Director Rochelle Walensky’s remarks intended to clarify the confusion about this issue of whether the 2nd booster is needed or not. It turns out it all depends (as it usually does). If I’ve been infected with Omicron in the last 2-4 months, then I might not need one, at least for now.
The catch is that my immunity is waning. I might still need the 2nd booster. I’m old enough that it might be a good idea to get it. On the other hand, I’m probably still going to need another jab come autumn. Dr. Walensky says this is “a personal judgment call.”
I’m still waiting for the FDA Advisory Committee’s conclusions on April 6, 2022.
AMA Update on Covid-19 2nd Vaccine Booster
The AMA published an update on the Covid-19 Vaccine 2nd booster and the YouTube presentation is only a couple of days old and pretty thorough. While the CDC indeed gave a permissive recommendation, it sounds like another jab would be recommended in the fall anyway, likely targeting variants. The FDA Advisory Committee still has a meeting scheduled for April 6, 2022. It sounds like Medicare and private insurance will cover the cost. The Federal funding outlook doesn’t sound as positive for the uninsured.
Second Covid Vaccine Booster Got Any Mojo?
Tomorrow’s April Fool’s Day and I thought I’d get this post up today so it wouldn’t get confused with a joke.
I’m genuinely a little confused about the FDA and CDC approval of the 2nd Covid vaccine booster. It’s almost like this vaccine is getting a mojo of some kind, at least with some experts.
Although I’m not keen on getting another jab, I’ll do it if there is reasonable evidence to support it. Not everyone on the FDA Advisory committee is for it. Dr. Paul Offit was quoted in a news story as saying, “We’re going to have to learn to live with mild disease at some point.”
Dr. Offit is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. I’ve heard him speak at FDA Advisory Committee meetings during public Zoom meetings on the subject and I respect his opinion. He doesn’t think frequent boosting is a reasonable thing to do. I’m inclined to agree with his opinion that most people won’t do it anyway. I’m sure he’ll have more to say at the April 6 FDA Covid Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting.
I was not surprised to learn that of the 90 million Americans who got their initial Covid vaccine series, only about half got the first booster. What kind of mojo is that?
Even the Pfizer drug company CEO, Albert Bourla, says frequent boosting is impractical.
There is some serious doubt in my mind about the booster mojo. Sena says that it would be helpful if more local infectious disease experts would express their own opinions about the direction this vaccination strategy is going. She has a point.
Does the Covid vaccine booster have any mojo? What do you think?
Featured image picture credit: pixydotorg.
FDA and CDC Endorse 2nd Vaccine Booster for Covid-19
FDA Advisory Committee Meeting on Covid Vaccine Boosters Scheduled for April 6, 2022
The FDA Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products has scheduled a meeting on April 6, 2022 “to discuss considerations for use of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses and the process for COVID-19 vaccine strain selection to address current and emerging variants.” The meeting will run from 8:30 AM-5:00 PM ET.
FDA Postpones Meeting to Discuss Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine for Children Less Than 5 years Old
The FDA announced today that the meeting to discuss Pfizer’s request for authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years of age, originally scheduled February 15, 2022, will be postponed. This will give Pfizer time to evaluate a third dose of the vaccine in this age group.
FDA Advisory Meeting on Covid-19 Vaccine for Children Less than 5 years Old
The FDA Advisory Committee will meet February 15, 2022 between 8:30 AM-5:00 PM ET to discuss Pfizer’s proposal to amend the Emergency Use Authorization for administration of the Covid-19 vaccine to children between 6 months through 4 years of age.
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