Ensuring maximum protection for the holiday season, the White House is making a push for people to get their updated COVID-19 booster shots before Halloween to combat what officials say will be a “challenging” virus season.
With temperatures dropping as fall sets in, doctors are expecting more cases of COVID-19 to pop up.
“We know from priors experiences from COVID-19 that as it gets colder and we congregate inside with one another, that’s when the transmission happens,” Dr. Paul Anthony of Hartford Healthcare said.
He said it’s a good idea to get the shot given the booster's effective against the latest variants and the original strain.
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“It will help boost people’s immune systems for what we expect to be a busy fall/winter season,” Anthony said.
Dr. Howard Selinger with Quinnipiac University said while a rise in cases is expected, he doesn’t expect a level of hospitalization like before, pointing to antibodies from previous vaccinations and people masking indoors.
“That does leave a baseline of protection or at least we hope so, and these variants don’t seem as virulent as the original strain,” Selinger said.
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The latest federal efforts coming as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports only 11.5 million Americans have gotten the latest booster, a slower pace than the initial booster rollout.
Selinger said he understands COVID-19 fatigue, but stresses the virus is still here and getting boosted helps everyone around you.
“We must think in terms of the health of our population and not of just ourselves and the last thing you want to do is carry the virus and spread to those who are more vulnerable that you care for,” he said.
Local doctors are also asking people to not forget their flu shots either, saying that shot is just as important to get.
