ATLANTA, GA – February 28, 2024 – On February 28th, a CDC advisory panel of experts and CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen recommend that seniors ages 65 years and older ‘should’ receive an additional updated 2023-24 COVID-19 vaccine dose. Seniors will be eligible 4 months after their last COVID shot. People ages 65 and older have the highest hospitalization and death rate from COVID-19 than any other age group. More than 95% of hospitalized patients with a COVID infection had not been up-to-date with the vaccine. The updated vaccine has been shown to reduce the rate of severe illness and death and to reduce the infection rate by 50%. Over the past 3 years, COVID-19 infections have surged in the winter and in August.
In September, the CDC recommended the updated COVID-19 vaccine for everyone over 6 months and older against the newer variants this fall and winter. The agency has recommended additional vaccination for immunocompromised people for better protection. However, protection has waned in seniors if they got a fall vaccine dose. Therefore, an additional dose of the updated vaccine this spring should restore protection against severe COVID illness and against a projected surge in August.
The COVID-19 vaccination rate has continued to decrease with every new vaccine recommendation. According to the CDC, 42% of Americans 65 and older have received the updated COVID vaccine. However, the vaccination rate is much lower for adults (22%) and children (13%) in the U.S.
Dr. Cohen said in a statement, “Most COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations last year were among people 65 years and older. An additional vaccine dose can provide added protection that may have decreased over time for those at highest risk.”
Listen to the full report below:
Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, healthyasheville@ashevillefm.org