Chicago’s most sensible doctor urges citizens to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine “as soon as possible. “
Dr. Allison Arwady said the new recalls from Pfizer and Moderna are recently “the most productive combination imaginable” in the fight against omicron’s dominant subvariants, and the more Chicagoans receive the reformulated vaccine now, the less likely a seasonal outbreak is to occur. -up will be.
“I am very pleased with the timing of this updated vaccine; it couldn’t be better,” he told WBEZ’s Reset.
Nearly 80 percent of Chicagoans over the age of 12 are now eligible for the new vaccine. Arwady said there are many vaccines to be done and other people are waiting to schedule an appointment.
Below are answers to some common questions about updated COVID vaccines, from who is eligible to where to find a vaccine.
Do you have any questions that we haven’t answered here?Email web@wbez. org or tag us on Twitter @WBEZ. This story will be updated as we have more information.
What makes this vaccine different?
So far, COVID-19 vaccines have targeted the original strain of coronavirus. The new updated vaccine is a “bivalent” vaccine, meaning it provides improved coverage as opposed to the original strain, as other booster vaccines have done, but also coverage. opposite to the subvariants BA. 4 and BA. 5 omicron.
What are the shots like?
Arwady has praised the new formula for its coverage against the omicron subvariants that are the most important today.
“If we can protect large numbers of other people right now from the variant that’s circulating, we’ll see less transmission and less emergence of new strains, which is a real scare for us as fall approaches in winter,” he said.
Who is eligible for the new COVID retreat?
The Pfizer-BioNTech booster is available for others over the age of 12, while the Moderna booster is reserved for adults over the age of 18.
To get the new booster, Americans will need to have finished a first round of vaccines, that is, two injections of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one injection of the Johnson vaccine.
Where is the shot available?
The reformulated vaccine is expected to be available at 90 retail pharmacies, including Walgreens and CVS, citywide during the first full week of September.
The public fitness branch will also use its mass vaccination sites in the city’s schools, which have recently focused more on monkeypox vaccines, to meet the demand for new COVID-19 vaccines. The city will hold vaccination events in schools across the city.
The updated vaccine will also be introduced to others in the household, especially citizens over the age of 65, homebound or living in a community with low vaccination rates.
How will you receive the Chicago vaccine?
The city won 150,000 doses of the redesigned vaccine in the first week of September, which, according to Arwady, is about 20 times the amount of vaccine Chicago gained in the initial launch in December 2020.
In addition to the doses arriving in the city, thousands more doses are expected in the state.
The United States has bought more than a million doses from Pfizer and Moderna.
Is the vaccine free?
Yes, the updated vaccine is still free. But Arwady said he hopes it will be the last COVID vaccine to exist outside the normal insurance system.
Can you get the past reminder?
No. Arwady that the new reinforcement replaces the previous ones.
What if you haven’t gained any other booster doses?
You don’t want to have won previous reinforcements to get this new reinforcement; you just want to have finished a first round of vaccines.
What if you had COVID?
While you don’t have to wait to get the booster, the CDC says you can wait up to 3 months after you become inflamed with COVID before getting the new vaccine.
Arwady, who recently had COVID, said he plans to wait a while before receiving the new vaccine, however, if a new variant emerges, he said he will get the booster sooner.
Can you and pair?
You can get Pfizer or Moderna, regardless of which vaccine you received in the first place.
“Obviously, Pfizer will be for those over 12 and Moderna for those over 18, but they’re pretty similar in dosage and content,” Arwady said.
How long will the new withdrawal offer protection?
For those suffering from “vaccine fatigue,” Dr. Mia Taormina, an infectious disease specialist at Duly Health and Care in Chicago, told WBEZ’s Reset that she didn’t anticipate we would line up to get vaccinated 3 or 4 months later.
“I think we’ll get 6 to 12 months of this retirement if everything goes well,” Taormina said. “The hope would be that this new advanced booster dose will continue to provide some efficacy unlike other diversifications of omicron that have not yet been noticed and we may have more durability in this retreat. “
Federal officials said this week they expect to have updated annual vaccines for COVID, just like the flu.
Is the new reinforcement safe?
“We have worked extensively with vaccine brands to ensure that the progression of updated recalls is done safely and effectively,” the FDA’s Dr. Peter Marks said in a statement.
Can you get a flu shot at the same time as the updated booster?
The new booster is likely to receive the same scale as a flu shot.
Arwady said the city plans to offer the flu vaccine and the updated COVID vaccine at its largest clinics, as they “anticipate that many other people will likely need to do it together. “
What are the effects of the vaccine?
Taormina said you can expect to have pain on the injection and that other people may increase fever, body aches or other flu-like symptoms, which can take about 24 hours to go away. While “not necessarily a cup of tea,” she said she still beats with COVID.
Courtney Kueppers is a virtual producer/reporter at WBEZ. Follow him @cmkueppers.