Dr. Leana Wen, a former emergency physician, serves as a public health professor at George Washington University. She said, “These new studies should erase any doubt about the importance of boosters.”
The research has enormous scope, looking into millions of cases across the U.S. Here’s what they reveal: If you were boosted you had a 90% chance of avoiding hospitalization during the recent surge. In comparison, getting two shots was 57%t effective when it had been at least six months past the second shot.
When it comes to the sickest of the sick, if you had two doses of an mRNA vaccine, but no booster, you had a 38% chance of avoiding a visit to the ER or urgent care. With a booster, that jumped to 82%.
Boosters offered better protection against catching omicron in the first place or developing symptoms if infected.
Top medical experts, like Dr. Anthony Fauci believe the CDC’s definition of what it means to be “fully vaccinated” needs a booster update. He said, “It’s going to be a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if.'”
So far, fewer than half of people in the U.S. who are eligible to get a booster have gotten one.
Dr. Wen, said, “I know people are sick and tired about hearing about COVID. But if getting the booster dose allows everybody to move on with their lives, I think those who are vaccinated are ready to hear that message.
All three studies found the unvaccinated, about 20% of all eligible Americans, faced the highest risks of becoming sick.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.