Cape Cod Hospital data shows the COVID-19 booster is working
Rolling up our sleeves to get the COVID-19 vaccine booster now feels a lot like our annual trek to a clinic or pharmacy for the annual flu vaccine.
Gone are the urgent messages to get the COVID shot that flooded our TVs, emails, conversations and social media over the past three years. However, a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds us that COVID-19 is still an illness to be taken seriously.
The study showed that from January-August 2023, adults 65 years and older made up 62.9 percent of all COVID-19-associated hospitalizations and only 23.5 percent had received the COVID-19 bivalent vaccine.
“What we are seeing is a little bit different than the study results,” said William Agel, MPH, MD, chief medical officer for Cape Cod Healthcare and Cape Cod Hospital.
“Most of our patients have had some of the vaccines,” he said. “We test every patient who is admitted to the hospital, no matter the reason for admission, and what we are seeing is those who have a positive COVID-19 test are either asymptomatic or have minimal symptoms. The overwhelming majority of the patients who are really sick with COVID have had no vaccines at all. This shows us that the vaccines work.”
Prior COVID-19 Vaccines Versus Current Vaccine
Last year’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine was tailored for both the original (wild-type virus) Omicron virus and the subvariant of that virus that was circulating at the time, said Dr. Agel. So it contained the original spike protein and was augmented with a spike protein from the more mutated or updated variant of the virus. That vaccine is no longer available. The new vaccine is monovalent for the current infection which is simply mRNA that codes for one spike protein of the most recent mutation variant, Omicron XBB.1.5.
According to Yale Medicine in September 2023, the Omicron XBB.1.5 evolved into a close variant EG.5. The CDC update of COVID-19 vaccines noted on October 4, 2023 that they anticipate the updated vaccines will fight the current circulating variants.
Dr. Agel recommends people age 65 and older get the vaccine as well as children 6 months to 11 years of age.
“The best time to get your COVID-19 vaccine booster is now, to get you through the respiratory season,” said Dr. Agel. “You will avoid getting significantly ill and this is one of those things you can do along with all your other health maintenance activities. Getting the COVID-19 infection may not be as dangerous as it was a few years ago, but it’s still no fun at all and we can prevent it.”
The Cape Cod Healthcare retail pharmacy at Falmouth Hospital has some appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in December. You can schedule an appointment for the Falmouth slots online via the MyChart patient portal.
