The fall and winter could bring another Covid spike, but we do now have a booster that targets the original strain and Omicron.
Dr. Julie Morita of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said now is the time to get it — or to begin vaccination if you’ve never gotten a shot.
“Disease activity is low right now, it’s likely that there is another surge of activity and when it happens, how big it is, how bad it is, we don’t really know,” she said, “but while we’re waiting and while we have this period of calm, getting vaccine coverage levels to the highest level as possible is really important.”
Rates on Covid boosters are low throughout the US, and federal funding is down from the height of the pandemic. Morita said that is a concern.
“We really need these federal resources to make sure that testing is available for everyone, make sure that treatment is available for people who get sick and we also need to make sure that vaccines are accessible particularly for people who are at low incomes, or people of color, or people who are living in rural communities where its harder to get the vaccine,” Morita said.
She urged parents to vaccinate their children now that they are back in school. The numbers show a decline in routine vaccination of children. Morita said federal money can help here too.
“I do have concerns regarding how accessible (the vaccine will be) to people who have limited access to health care services, people who don’t have paid time off or easy transportation to and from locations,” she said, “so it’s really critical that systems be set up to make sure the vaccines are widely accessible.”