It’s a good idea to get COVID-19 booster shot now, not wait for next version, says virologist

To wait or not to wait? That is the question now for some people when it comes to getting another COVID-19 booster dose.

Starting Monday, Saskatchewan residents age 18 or older can receive a second booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as long as they received their previous dose at least four months ago.

However, plans in Canada and the United States possibly to move to a bivalent vaccine — which will target the original strain and one of the Omicron strains — may lead some people to wait to reserve the fourth vaccine.

Saskatoon resident Natasha Williamson said she was considering waiting, but decided to book a booster for her, considering it her 40th birthday present.

“Like that old saying, one bird in the hand is better than two birds in the bush,” Williamson said.

“I feel like a shot now, even if it wasn’t a more specifically targeted shot, it would still be more useful to me than a shot we’re not really sure when or if it will come out, or when I’m really eligible.”

Shehab says that waiting for the fourth shot is a good thing

Last week, Saskatchewan’s chief medical officer, Dr. Saqib Shehab, said people who qualify for a second booster shot can either get it now or wait until fall until a potential bivalent vaccine is available.

“That’s fine too,” he said of waiting.

Like Williamson, Angela Rasmussen also plans to get the second booster vaccine as soon as possible because it’s unclear when the bivalent vaccines will be available in Canada.

“Our current booster shots are not as specific as they might be for variants now circulating, specifically the BA.5 substrain of the Omicron family,” said the virologist and University of Saskatchewan vaccine researcher. and the Infectious Diseases Organization.

“However, we know that the original prescription boosters we have now really do greatly increase your protection against omicron infection, plus they really increase your protection against severe illness and possibly death.”

British regulator first to authorize Moderna’s COVID-19 booster update

mRNA vaccines provide the information cells need to make the coronavirus protein, which in turn stimulates the body’s immune system to respond and help protect against infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, According to the federal government.

Bivalent vaccines contain two types of messenger RNAs, Rasmussen said, that encode two different spike proteins.

On Monday, drug regulators in Great Britain became the first to authorize an updated version of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine intended to protect against the original virus and the Omicron BA.1 variant worldwide.

Rasmussen said the United States has not approved this bivalent vaccine.

In June, the FDA told vaccine makers that any booster shots modified for drop should include protection against the latest Omicron variants, meaning BA.4 and BA.5, not the BA.1 variant included in the latest Moderna shot.

Last month, the FDA said it was no longer considering allowing a second booster dose of COVID-19 for all adults, but would instead focus on fall-improved vaccines that target the latest viral variants.

According to the World Health Organization, the latest global wave of COVID-19 has been driven by Omicron subvariant BA.5, which is more contagious than the original version of Omicron.

Moderna and Pfizer are currently brewing updated versions of their vaccine to include BA.5 in addition to the original COVID-19 virus.

“I really encourage people when those bivalent vaccines, whether it’s specifically BA.1 or BA.5, become available in Canada, that people get one of those,” Rasmussen said.

“This should really lead to increased protection against infection from around the world, which will help reduce transmission and will certainly help reduce the overall burden of COVID in our communities.”

In June, the Canadian National Immunization Advisory Committee (NACI) recommended That only those at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 should get a booster dose this fall in anticipation of a future wave.

Several provinces and territories, including Saskatchewan, have already moved to deliver the fourth doses of the original vaccines this summer. The NACI said it will make recommendations on the type of booster to give when evidence of multivalent vaccines is available.

Many people are in Sask. You didn’t get your first booster dose

Rasmussen still thinks it’s a good idea for people in the county to get a booster dose as soon as they are eligible, rather than potentially waiting months for a bivalent vaccine.

Both Shehab and Rasmussen said many people in the county have not even received their first booster shot yet.

Less than 50 percent of adults in the county got their first booster dose, according to Shehab.

“I would at least encourage them to get their first booster dose and not wait for the divalent,” he said.

It has been shown that immunity wanes over time, Shehab said, and that providing booster doses has also been shown to provide increased protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death.

“There are still very high levels of the virus across Canada and in Saskatchewan,” Rasmussen said.

“I really recommend going at least to get your first booster shot, because when these updated boosters become available in a few months, people who’ve got a shot now will be quickly eligible for those shots as well.”