"With the threat of another COVID-19 wave in the winter combined with influenza and the previous shots from a year or two losing much of their efficacy, the new bivalent vaccine boosters produced by Pfizer and Moderna have been recommended, especially for those a high risk."

"All the COVID-19 vaccines help protect against severe illness, hospitalization and death from the virus. As the virus changes and your immunity naturally decreases over time, you may lose some of that protection. These bivalent vaccines work in the same way as the original COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots, and they are made using the same process. The FDA said a single booster dose with an updated bivalent vaccine “provides broad protection against COVID-19 and is expected to provide better protection against COVID-19 caused by the currently circulating Omicron variant.”

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According to the latest data shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 11.5 million eligible people in the USA have received an updated booster. That is less than 5% of the 240 million people who qualify. The US recorded an average of 420 deaths from covid in the past week. This is a continuing trend; so, the pandemic isn't "over". Experts, including Anthony Fauci, warn that lower immunization levels might also contribute to the emergence of new variants, potentially with more severe effects than omicron.

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An Alternative

U.S. regulators on Wednesday authorized a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax. The Food and Drug Administration said the new booster option is for people 18 and older who can’t get the Omicron-targeting boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for medical or accessibility reasons — or who otherwise would not receive a COVID-19 booster shot at all. Novavax is a protein-based vaccine unlike the other COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States from Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also signed off approving the Novavax boosters; even though it is not specifically targeted against Omicron.

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U.S. health officials have been encouraging Americans to get those updated Pfizer and Moderna boosters to bolster protection against the most common Omicron strain, known as BA.5, ahead of an expected winter surge. Unfortunately, that "encouragement" has been very low key.

Do you plan to get boosted? Or do you feel COVID no longer is a World problem?