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New Boosters
As COVID-19 cases slowly rise in Los Angeles County, public health officials are anticipating the rollout of updated COVID-19 booster shots targeting the latest Omicron subvariants. The new bivalent booster shots have been tweaked with the goal of providing better protection against the currently dominant strains, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The big question is when the Omicron-specific shots will be available to the public. The CDC expects the updated vaccine rollout to begin in mid to late September, meaning pharmacies will likely start offering the new boosters in October. But who will be eligible to receive the adapted boosters is still unclear.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing safety data from pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna for their respective Omicron-targeting COVID shots. Once the FDA gives the green light, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will likely convene a special meeting to examine the data and provide dosage recommendations for specific age groups.
"The FDA anticipates taking timely action to authorize or approve updated COVID-19 vaccines in order to make vaccines available this fall," a CDC spokesperson told LAist.
In the meantime, the CDC advises that people ages 6 months and older stay up-to-date with the original COVID-19 vaccines and boosters currently available. Individuals 6 years of age and older are considered up-to-date if they have received one bivalent booster shot. Younger children between 6 months to 5 years old need multiple smaller doses of the vaccine to be up-to-date. More information can be found on the CDC website.
When the Omicron boosters do become available, public health experts do not anticipate another mad rush like earlier in the pandemic. So far, uptake of the existing bivalent booster shots has been low. Only 17% of the U.S. population has received an updated booster shot, per CDC data. In Los Angeles County, just 18% of residents ages 6 months and older have gotten the bivalent booster.
Public health leaders acknowledge that persuading more people to get the adapted boosters this fall will be challenging. "There is still work to do to demonstrate to the public the importance of these updated boosters," said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer at a recent news briefing. She emphasized that the boosters will be vital to bolstering protection ahead of an anticipated winter COVID surge.
The Omicron variant has been the dominant strain in the U.S. for months. The BA.5 subvariant currently accounts for the vast majority of COVID cases nationwide. The new bivalent boosters from Pfizer and Moderna specifically target BA.5 as well as the original COVID strain, with the aim of broadening immune response.
Clinical trial data indicate the updated boosters generate a stronger antibody response against Omicron subvariants compared to the original boosters. An FDA advisory panel reviewed the data in June and voted unanimously to authorize bivalent boosters for use this fall.
Some scientists argue that repeated boosting is not a viable long-term strategy, as the virus will keep mutating. They contend that it would be more prudent to save the boosters for right before surges. But health officials maintain that getting the new boosters as soon as possible will provide the best defense against another winter wave.
“We want to have the best immune response before the wave starts,” said UCLA epidemiologist Dr. Robert Kim-Farley. “You want to have the troops ready before the enemy arrives.”
Along with urging COVID booster shots, public health leaders continue to stress the importance of other mitigation strategies. This includes wearing high-quality masks indoors, improving ventilation, getting tested before gatherings, and staying home when sick.
Officials also emphasize that COVID treatments like Paxlovid remain effective options for reducing risk of hospitalization and death. However, limited awareness and access to the antiviral pills persist across the region.
“We have a great deal of COVID fatigue, but the virus is still posing a threat that requires our attention,” said L.A. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis. While hopeful that the updated boosters will offer stronger protection, Davis said that layering various precautions will remain vital this fall and winter.
As of October 17, the daily COVID case rate in L.A. County was 11.7 per 100,000 residents, up from 9.8 per 100,000 two weeks earlier. Hospitalizations have also ticked up in recent weeks but remain relatively low. Health officials say most hospitalized patients were either not fully vaccinated or had not received any booster shots.
“The best way for us to get through the next few months will be to optimize our protection against severe illness through updated vaccines and treatments,” said Ferrer. “But we will need to ask the public once again to help slow transmission by taking sensible precautions. The future course of this virus is still unclear, and we need to be prepared."
