As much as no New Yorker wants it to be true, COVID-19 is still around and making people sick. After a bump in cases and hospitalizations this summer, health experts now say it’s time to get ready for a potentially disruptive autumn and winter.
Their advice on the most effective way to prepare? Get the new COVID vaccination this fall.
Earlier vaccinations and infections have granted us some degree of protection, explained Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. But there’s a loss of immunity over time. Meanwhile, if you’ve had COVID before and didn’t feel too bad, that’s not necessarily what will happen the next time you get sick because of new variants, he explained.
“The only thing predicted about COVID is that it’s unpredictable,” Chin-Hong said.
The new vaccine will likely be one shot and available in mid-to-late September, “pending regulatory action by the FDA and recommendation from the CDC,” explained Belsie González, a senior public affairs specialist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over email.
On Sept. 12, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet to discuss the new vaccine. This group is tasked with advising the CDC on whether or not to move forward with using the updated formula. Once the advisory committee votes and the CDC’s Director Dr. Mandy Cohen approves it, the dispersal of the vaccine will likely happen rapidly.
“I imagine that we’ll be able to start to get needles into arms by late September,” said Dr. Andrew Wallach, a primary care physician and the ambulatory care chief medical officer at New York City Health and Hospitals.
In the intervening weeks before the new vaccine is available, one of the best ways you can protect yourself while you wait is by wearing a mask, especially around large crowds, advised Wallach. And if you feel sick, “please stay at home.”
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