Labor Day is here and, for many Colorado students, school is already well underway. That means it’s time for annual vaccine shots.
Newly updated COVID-19 vaccines won recent approval from the federal government. Updated flu vaccines are available as well.
We interviewed a pair of experts: Dr. Rachel Herlihy, Colorado’s state epidemiologist and Dr. Amy Duckro, an infectious diseases physician and the executive director of Population Health for Kaiser Permanente Colorado.
Editor’s note: Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
When are the new COVID-19 shots going to be available?
Herlihy: It typically takes a couple of weeks for them to start arriving. I would say that probably two to three weeks is a good bet for timing for when the COVID vaccine should start arriving in the state.
Duckro: Most healthcare systems are just starting to receive their flu shots and the COVID vaccines are expected to be coming in within the coming few weeks. At Kaiser Permanente, we expect to have the COVID-19 vaccines by mid-September.
Who should get one?
Duckro: We recommend that all eligible persons get both the flu and the COVID vaccine, and the CDC has recently updated their recommendation that regardless of previous vaccination history, everyone is expected – or everyone is recommended – to receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine. So, that is a little bit new, because before we used to have all of the different recommendations based on your previous vaccine history. Now it's becoming much more simple.
Herlihy: The COVID vaccine is recommended for everyone six months of age and older. So really just about everybody is recommended to receive the new COVID vaccine.
Are they safe? How do they help protect the whole community?
Herlihy: The vaccines are safe and effective, and we now have multiple years of data demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines. Of course, we don't have data yet for this year's vaccine, but the data from last year's vaccine showed strong effectiveness and decreased your risk of developing COVID and severe complications of COVID. So certainly recommend that folks take advantage of this updated vaccine that should provide added protection.
Duckro: It's important to think about getting vaccinated not only to protect yourself, but also to protect the community regarding safety. These are some of the most well-studied vaccines in our history of immunizations, especially with the COVID vaccine. We have had such robust and intensive monitoring of vaccine side effects, and the release of that information has been very public and transparent because of the concerns about really being honest with people about what to expect. But because we have gathered so much information nationally about side effects, we really understand that these vaccines are safe and effective.
Is there a best time to get one?
Duckro: Generally speaking, earlier in the respiratory virus season is better because you want to have protection when these viruses begin circulating, and it can take a couple of weeks after you get vaccinated to have sufficient levels of immunity to protect yourself from infection. So really when these vaccines become available, it's recommended to get them as soon as possible.
Herlihy: We typically recommend September and October as the ideal time to receive those fall respiratory virus vaccines. So that's going to include COVID, of course, but also influenza. And, for those individuals that might be eligible, they should think about the RSV vaccine. That's not a vaccine you need to get every year. It's a one-time vaccine, at least for now, but certainly that's a third vaccine to consider.
We’ve been in the midst of a COVID-19 surge. What if I recently caught the virus? Should I still get a shot, if so when?
Herlihy: You certainly should still get a shot, but there might be some considerations around timing. National experts say that it's probably okay to wait up to three months or so after you've had COVID to get that next vaccine. So that certainly could be a consideration, but it’s also really important to talk to your healthcare provider about that. Certain people who are at higher risk for severe disease, or people who might be immunocompromised might not want to wait that long. So, it's really going to be an individual decision.
Duckro: Yes, absolutely. If you had COVID recently, you would want to get your flu shot now, but you might consider waiting a couple of months to get the new COVID vaccine because you will have some immunity after having had infection to the virus. But with illness or with vaccination over time that immunity lessens or wanes. And so that then getting a vaccine a couple of months after that infection is reasonable to help bring your antibody levels back up and continue to offer you protection.
Do COVID-19 vaccines protect against long COVID-19?
Herlihy: They do, and that is absolutely a reason to consider getting the COVID-19 vaccine there is demonstrated effectiveness data showing that the vaccine prevents long COVID as well.
Duckro: Certainly the biggest protection around that is if you don't get infected, you aren't at risk for long COVID.
We have two vaccines that are now approved, Pfizer and Moderna, with Novavax awaiting approval. Is there any preference?
Herlihy: There's not a preference between those three. So certainly all of them can be considered. We know that the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine are built on the mRNA technology. The novavax vaccine is a little bit more of the traditional vaccine technology. So some people who may have had a symptom or side effect from having one of those vaccines may want to consider the other one. But in general, all of the vaccines are equally recommended.
Duckro: There really is no preference among them. As long as we have the updated recommendations from CDC, then that's what we will follow and recommend.
Newer coronavirus variants pop up so fast now that it’s hard for updated vaccines to keep up with the latest strains. How well are they expected to work this fall?
Duckro: There is a possibility that a vaccine that is produced may not have as optimal protection as desired. However, what is consistently seen is that even when the vaccines are not a perfect match, there is still some protection offered in reducing the risk of severe disease or death from infection following the COVID pandemic.
Herlihy: National experts are saying they expect these vaccines to provide strong protection to the variants that are circulating now. They’re much more closely related to what's circulating now than what was circulating a year ago, or the vaccine you would've received a year ago.
In the U.S. uptake of the annual boosters has fallen behind the original shots. Is that worrisome? What steps are being taken to encourage vaccination?
Herlihy: We would absolutely love to see higher vaccination rates than we are seeing right now. So certainly encourage individuals to get the vaccine, especially people that might be at increased risks. So older adults, people with underlying medical conditions, that would be a group of folks where the vaccine is going to be particularly important. And we do tend to see slightly better numbers here for uptake in Colorado compared to nationally, but absolutely not what we would like them to be.
Duckro: The more conversations we can have on an individual level as doctors and nurses and pharmacists with our patients to help encourage them to be vaccinated and consider the safety implications both for themselves and for the people they love. That is meaningful. And then on a larger scale, thinking about how we remind people of the benefit of vaccination and the avoidance of disease and that whatever virus we're talking about or infection, whether it's polio or the flu or COVID or RSV, that all of these illnesses really can do significant damage. And there's nothing worse than imagining a family member, a child, a grandparent suffering or dying from an infection that was preventable or could have been lessened in severity by a vaccine.
Flu season arrives in the coming months. Does it make sense to get both a flu shot and a COVID-19 shot? Can you get them simultaneously?
Duckro: You can get both the flu, the COVID and the RSV vaccine, if you're eligible, at the same time. And there are some people who say, well, I like to spread them out because I don't want to deal with side effects. That may be worse. It's true that you might have a little bit more of a reaction if you get them on the same day, but my personal perspective is why suffer more than once? So if you're going to get these vaccines, which we do recommend getting them on the same day, then that avoids the impact you're going to have by having them at different times. And it's more efficient. People are busy, so getting in the office and getting the vaccines all at once is a time saver and makes sense.
Herlihy: Yes, you can absolutely get them at the same time. And again, I would consider that third vaccine, the RSV vaccine for older individuals.
What’s the best advice for vaccinating children against COVID-19?
Herlihy: The vaccine is absolutely recommended for children starting at the age of six months, and that would include both influenza vaccination and COVID vaccination. But keep in mind that extra doses, additional doses might be needed for a child that has never been vaccinated before.
Duckro: I think both in terms of protecting the child from infection, serious illness, and also the possibilities of long COVID, there's also the impact to the community, which is to reduce the likelihood of children being a vector or a means of spread to a more vulnerable person, someone, one of their teachers, a grandparent, a family member who's immune suppressed. Those are all important reasons for children to be vaccinated.
What’s the public health guidance about other vaccines for children, as they return to school?
Duckro: It's always important to check in with your doctor and your healthcare team to make sure you're up to date on routine vaccinations. These vaccines are tried and true, and they have been protecting us from infections, various infections for decades. It's important to stay up to date with recommendations and make sure that your child is up to date with their own vaccine recommendations, especially as they return to school.
Herlihy: Now is the right time to make sure your child is up to date on required vaccines. So certainly recommend that parents check their immunization records, and you can do that online now with our immunization registry or check with your healthcare provider to see if your child is up to date to have all of those completed forms and requirements in place.
What’s the advice this fall for the vaccines against RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but can cause severe illness?
Herlihy: That new RSV vaccine that just came around last year is now recommended for everyone 75 years of age and older. And then, for individuals in the 60 year to 74 year age group, they may consider receiving that vaccine based on underlying medical conditions, conversations with your healthcare provider.
Duckro: The RSV vaccine is not expected to be an annual vaccine, and with all vaccines, immunity likely wanes or is reduced over time. So making sure you get the vaccine at the time it's recommended is ideal. There is also a vaccine product for pregnant women, an antibody product against RSV for babies as children have a higher risk for severe disease and death from RSV. So pregnant women should be making sure to be in touch with their doctors to either get that vaccine for themselves or plan for that for the antibody product for their children.
