130 – COVID Booster Update for Aging Adults (9.7.22 Edition)

Dr. K discusses what aging adults & families should know about the new fall COVID boosters, the latest Omicron variants, and more. Plus who died of COVID this summer and how to know if you’re at high risk of severe COVID.

She covers:

• The current COVID situation & variants in the US
• Newer variants overseas that might evade immunity
• What’s in the new bivalent fall COVID booster
• How the fall booster was developed and tested
• Why there has been debate about the fall COVID booster
• Data review: who died of COVID this past summer?
• The data on the benefit of boosters so far
• Dr. K’s predictions regarding benefits of the fall COVID booster
• When to get your fall COVID booster
• Do you need a booster if you’ve had Omicron?
• Summary of Dr. K’s COVID booster recommendations, including which booster, if you have a choice
• What to know about Paxlovid and what to do if you catch COVID

Related Episodes:

129 – COVID Update for Aging Adults (7.21.22 Edition)

Related Resources:

• BHWA:
  • COVID & Aging Adults: 2022 Updates
  • COVID Vaccination for Aging Adults: What to Know & Do
• To track COVID data:
  • NY Times COVID Tracker
  • Wastewater:
    • CDC Wastewater Surveillance
    • Biobot.io wastewater tracker
  • Walgreens Test Positivity Tracker
  • OurWorldInData.org Coronavirus Data Explorer
  • CDC Nursing Home Covid-19 Data Dashboard
  • CDC Variant Proportion Tracker
  • CDC COVID cases and deaths by vaccine status
• Fall COVID booster resources:
  • CDC ACIP Meeting Slides from September 1, 2022
    • For human and mice data on Omicron booster: Moderna slides, Pfizer slides
• CDC Datasets in this update:
  • Rates of COVID-19 Cases or Deaths by Age Group and Vaccination Status
  • Rates of COVID-19 Cases or Deaths by Age Group and Vaccination Status and Second Booster Dose
• From medical journals and research groups:
  • Short term, relative effectiveness of four doses versus three doses of BNT162b2 vaccine in people aged 60 years and older in Israel: retrospective, test negative, case-control study (May 2022)
  • Effectiveness of a fourth dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine against all-cause mortality in long-term care facility residents and in the oldest old: A nationwide, retrospective cohort study in Sweden (July 2022)
  • Association of Receipt of the Fourth BNT162b2 Dose With Omicron Infection and COVID-19 Hospitalizations Among Residents of Long-term Care Facilities (June 2022)
  • Risk of BA.5 Infection among Persons Exposed to Previous SARS-CoV-2 Variants (Sept 2022)
  • Nirmatrelvir Use and Severe Covid-19 Outcomes during the Omicron Surge (Aug 2022)
  • COVID-19 rebound after Paxlovid and Molnupiravir during January-June 2022
• From news and other media:
  • Omicron boosters: Do I need one, and if so, when? (NPR 9/5/22)
  • India and China first to authorize inhaled COVID vaccines (CBS 9/6/22)
• For masking, ventilation COVID transmission information:
  • Masks Dr. K uses:
    • 3M V-flex N95
    • 3M Aura N95
  • Project N95
  • Twitter resources
    • @masknerd
  • CDC Interactive ventilation tool
  • The Corsi-Rosenthal Box: DIY Box Fan Air Filter for COVID-19 and Wildfire Smoke