On Wednesday I went for my second COVID booster shot after a year. It has been three months since I have COVID, which I suffered through twice in 2022. The first time was not fun, but the second time was mild. My arm still hurts from the shot, but I am glad I was able to get it.
Bivalent Boosters are Working Well
From the CDC:
Relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of a bivalent booster dose compared with that of ≥2 monovalent vaccine doses among persons for whom 2–3 months and ≥8 months had elapsed since last monovalent dose was 30% and 56% among persons aged 18–49 years, 31% and 48% among persons aged 50–64 years, and 28% and 43% among persons aged ≥65 years, respectively.
By The Numbers
- Massachusetts leads the way with a measly 25% of the population having received a bivalent booster.
- 62.9% of the Massachusetts population that has gotten a flu shot so it’s not a fear of needles keeping folks from doing this.
- COVID cases have risen 54% in the past 14 days. If more people had gotten a booster, this increase would be less.
What’s the point?
The COVID vaccine and booster reduces but does not eliminate your chance of getting infected, but also does a great job of keeping you out of the hospital. COVID is a horrific disease that has killed a lot of people, but now we have a way to keep ourselves safe. A booster reduces disruption to our lives and reduces the spread of the virus.