Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, is urging older Americans to get Covid booster shots as hospitalizations rise substantially.
Hospitalizations have increased 25% among those 70 and older over the past week, with more than 1,500 people in the age group admitted with Covid per day on average as of Tuesday, according to CDC data. The U.S. is reporting more than 100,000 new Covid infections per day on average, an 18% increase over the week prior, as more transmissible omicron variants weep the U.S.
In people ages 50 and older, two doses of Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines are about 50% effective at prevent emergency department and urgent care visits due to omicron infection six months after receiving the second shot,A third dose boosts that protection to about 77%. The Food and Drug Administration and the CDC authorized second boosters for older Americans in March based primarily on data from Israel. Scientists in Israel found that a fourth dose reduced the death rate from Covid in people ages 60 and older by 78% compared with those who received three shots.
"This fourth booster dose is something that evidence that we have now from Israel suggests that by getting this, one can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in this population of older individuals," Dr. Peter Marks, a top FDA officials told reporters during a call in March. "We're hoping that by taking this action, we will help allow people to take steps to protect themselves should we have another wave that comes through this country," Marks said.
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