Spring has sprung, and if you’re 65 or over that means it’s time for another Covid-19 booster—even if you’re in picture-perfect health.
That’s the latest recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In February, the CDC said that all Americans ages 65 and up should get a second dose of the updated Covid vaccine this spring. Previously, this booster had been recommended only for people with compromised immune systems.
The new advice has a few reasons behind it. Older Americans still account for the vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths due to Covid, and vaccination substantially lowers those risks—but that protection does wane over time. The booster would ramp up people’s immune defenses again.
“I agree with the CDC,” said John Swartzberg, MD, a professor of public health, infectious disease specialist, and chairperson of the Wellness Letter editorial board. “The bottom line is, anyone 65 or older—and especially those 75 and older—should avail themselves of the booster.”
The spring booster is the same Covid shot that was approved last fall and designed to target the particular Omicron subvariant (dubbed XBB.1.5) that was causing most Covid cases during the earlier part of 2023. The CDC says the vaccine is also effective against the JN.1 subvariant that is currently behind the bulk of Covid infections nationwide.
We do know, based on past experience, that getting a Covid booster can make a big difference. There are data showing clear benefits for older Americans who received the “bivalent” Covid booster between September 2022 and August 2023. (That shot, formulated for the virus variant circulating at the time, and the original vaccine are no longer used.) Among Americans ages 65 and older, the bivalent booster was up to 67 percent effective in preventing Covid hospitalizations over the next four months, versus remaining completely unvaccinated, according to statistics reported by the CDC. Boosted older adults were also more protected than those who had only gotten doses of the original Covid vaccine.
However, the protection from any Covid jab does decline over time, as the antibodies generated by vaccination wane in the ensuing six months or so, Dr. Swartzberg said.
And for the foreseeable future at least, we need protection from Covid year-round: The disease does not (yet) have a defined “season,” like the flu does, Dr. Swartzberg noted. Although sporadic flu cases pop up all year, the vast majority happen within a predictable time frame of roughly November through March—which is why we have just one yearly flu shot.
With Covid, cases occur throughout the year, and in each of the past few years, CDC data show, there have been not only winter “surges” but summer ones, too. So a smart move, Dr. Swartzberg advised, is to get ahead of a possible summer wave with a spring booster. And a better reason to get the booster is to protect yourself from the virus that continues to circulate, regardless of seasons.
Last year’s figures on hospitalizations and deaths are stark: From January through August 2023, Americans ages 65 and older accounted for almost two-thirds of Covid hospitalizations and 90 percent of in-hospital deaths. Of those hospitalized, over three-quarters had not received the available (and recommended) Covid shot.
If you need even more incentive to get boosted, Dr. Swartzberg pointed to it: Evidence is growing that Covid vaccination also reduces the risk of long Covid—and the protection builds with booster shots.
The CDC’s recommendations on staying up-to-date on Covid vaccination (for all ages) are available here.
