The Covid-19 Booster Shots Are Here, and So Is the Anger over Who Gets

Americans have reached the booster angst phase of the pandemic – and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement on Friday supporting additional shots for some, but not all, has left many people with more questions than answers.

In August, with the Delta variant increasing and breakthrough infections increasing, the Biden administration indicated that the boosters would be widely available in the US starting this month. After heavy debate among scientists, the CDC eventually backed the booster to a narrower group. Yet its guidance leaves much room for interpretation as to who is eligible, doctors say.

“Patient portals are being overrun with patients’ emails,” says Mark Fairstein, a primary care physician at NYU Langone Ambulatory Care Lake Success in New York. “There are too many questions. The confusion is because every day someone comes out and says something different.”

“The booster conversation has people turning their heads,” says Laura Morris, a family therapist in Fulton, Mo. She says some patients have been asking about boosters all summer long, including whether they’re really necessary. Many asked about him on Friday; He gave two patients, both in their 70s, additional shots.

The CDC said people age 65 and older receiving the Pfizer vaccine, as well as those aged 50 to 64 with certain underlying medical conditions, should get the booster. It also determined other groups of people who could receive boosters based on their risk levels and potential benefits, prompting many new questions and decision making. For recipients of Moderna and J&J vaccines, the FDA and CDC have said they need more time to review the data.

Lucy Ballantine, 33, is pregnant in Washington, DC. The pregnancy and her age put her in the category of people the CDC said could receive a “booster,” but the agency didn’t explicitly say they should receive a booster. Ms. Ballantyne says she is interested in getting a booster shot, but has questions for her midwife. She wants to know whether she should get one before giving birth or wait until after.

If her midwife says she should get it while she’s pregnant, Ms. Ballantyne says, “I want to pass on as many antibodies as possible.”

Doctors say that now the biggest gray area is for people between the ages of 18 and 49. “It’s definitely the group that probably needs the most counseling and perhaps we need to take a closer look at their individual risk,” says Dr. Morris.

In that group, doctors say it’s important to look at occupation, where people live and work, who they usually come into contact with, and their health. Dr. Morris says he has a healthy patient in that age group who takes care of his mother who is severely immunocompromised. She wanted a booster earlier this week but Dr. Morris told her to stop; Now, she says she would recommend that the patient get one.

Cameron Wolfe, associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Duke University Health System, says the guidelines give doctors a lot of flexibility for 18- to 49-year-olds. “We’re going to use it in a fairly permissive fashion. If anyone is interested and tolerates the first two doses and it’s been six months, I think it’s open,” he says.

Some questions to consider, he says: “What kind of work do you do? Who is at home with you who may be at greater risk? Can you take a few weeks off if you get sick? How did you tolerate the first two doses? Have you had covid before?”

Many people who are no longer clearly qualified are curious to know when they will. Lauren Lipowicz, a 41-year-old real-estate agent in Lower Merion, Pa., is eager for a booster and will ask her doctor when she might be eligible.

“I want it now,” she says, adding that she won’t get one until she qualifies. “I don’t have an underlying condition and don’t believe I’m qualified to do a high-risk job, but if they tell me I can, I’ll be first in line,” she says. He got covid in August 2020 and was vaccinated in the same year. “I don’t want to ever have to go through it again,” she says of the virus.

Erica Ackie, a 20-year-old Boston University student who got her second Pfizer shot in June, wants to know when or if boosters will be available for people her age. She longs for an extra dose of protection, she says. “I’m in-person classes in a big city,” she says. “I want to put myself in a healthier position.”

Some people are looking for boosters regardless of their condition. Pharmacies and vaccine clinics don’t always test booster-seekers and some doctors have more permissive views on boosters.

Lucy McBride, a Washington, DC, primary care physician, says that despite her counseling that the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are doing a great job at preventing severe COVID-19 in most people, some of her patients received boosters anyway. have decided to do. .

“People are realizing the ambiguity and abundance of the vaccine and are deciding on their own to get it,” says Dr. McBride.