About 50% of eligible Americans have received a booster shot, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the Pfizer and Moderna news might raise questions regardless. For those who have yet to get inoculated, should they wait until there is an Omicron-specific vaccine? What if someone has already had Covid-19 during the Omicron surge, do they still need a booster? And what does this mean for people who’ve already gotten a booster, or those who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine and then subsequently got a dose of another kind?
For answers to these and other questions, I spoke with CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen. Wen is an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is also author of “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.”
CNN: Should people hold off on getting their booster until they can receive an Omicron-specific one?
Dr. Leana Wen: No, they shouldn’t. Everyone eligible to receive a booster should do so now.
During a period in December and January when Omicron was dominant, one study found that getting a booster dose was 90% effective at preventing hospitalization, compared with the 57% effectiveness seen in vaccinated people who had not been boosted and were six months past their second shot. Another study examining over 13,000 Omicron cases found that the likelihood of developing symptomatic infection was 66% lower in participants with three doses compared with two.
Second, the Omicron-specific vaccines are still in clinical trials. The trials will take months complete. We don’t know yet the results of the trial and whether these variant-specific vaccines will be better than the original vaccines. Even if they end up getting authorized, it will be months from now, and with Omicron still surging, people shouldn’t delay their boosters.
CNN: If you get the regular booster now, does that mean you can’t get the Omicron-specific booster later?
Wen: No. One of the groups Pfizer is studying includes individuals who received three doses and…