So much for herd immunity
Ready for your second booster? (Photo: Reuters/Lisa Marie David)
In the middle of last year, the World Health Organization began promoting an ambitious goal: to fully vaccinate 70% of the population in every country against COVID-19 by June 2022.
Now, it's looking like the world will fall far short of that target.
Only a few of the world’s 82 poorest countries — including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal — have reached the 70% vaccination threshold. Unfortunately, many are under 20%, according to University of Oxford’s Our World in Data project.
The Philippines isn't doing too bad, fully vaccinating 60% of the population.
Some global health experts say the world missed a prime opportunity last year to provide vaccines to lower-income countries, when the public was more fearful of COVID and motivated to get vaccinated.
Two years in, people just aren’t afraid of COVID anymore. Even worse, anti-vaccine advocates have sown mistrust and fear about the vaccines.
But COVID is still very real. The Herman Cain Award subreddit is full of stories of those who refused vaccination, only to find themselves fighting for their very lives against the disease. Sometimes, misinformation can be a killer.
Not giving up
According to public health experts, it’s imperative that countries continue to pursue the 70% target. Because not achieving high vaccination coverage worldwide could lead to the emergence of dangerous new variants that would threaten the world’s efforts to live with the virus.
Good thing the world is on its second round of boosters. On Monday, April 25, the Philippines began administering a fourth dose or second booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
But didn’t we just get our boosters?
There’s a little confusion about who should get a second booster now. There’s also a bit of discussion on whether to wait. What’s clear is that the second booster has been approved for the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and frontline health workers.
According to the CDC, people over the age of 50 can now get an additional booster four months after their prior dose to further increase their protection.
In all cases, your second booster shouldn’t be administered until at least four months have elapsed since your first booster dose. This may allow your immune system to be more ready to fully react to the second booster. If you don’t fall within the major groups outlined by the FDA, don’t worry about it, you’ll get your second booster soon enough.
Does this mean we're going to need to get boosters every four months? Maybe not.
Researchers are testing combination shots as a possible new kind of COVID booster. This takes cues from the flu vaccine, which offers protection against three or four different strains in one shot every year.
