Second COVID booster shots encouraged for adults 50 and older as subvariant spreads

Bob Robertson is heading to France in a couple weeks and wants to make sure he’s protected.

“I would not consider traveling without having a shot and having a booster," Robertson said. "If I could take five, I would."

Robertson just got his second booster at Person Street Pharmacy in Raleigh. The pharmacy provides boosters once a week and they’ve recently seen a decrease in demand, pharmacist Maresa Roney said.

“I would say, three months ago, it was very busy," Roney said. "We would do boosters all day, every day.

"The past few months, it’s slowed down. We only do a few to be honest.”

Dr. David Wohl at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said they are finding the new variant- BA2 in more than 50% of cases in the country.

FDA Allows Second Coronavirus Boosters for Everyone 50 and Older

As restrictions ease and people start to mingle, he says they should consider getting a booster especially, if their last vaccine was a while ago.

“If you have had three shots, like I have my last shot was back in October, I am a little concerned that my antibody level may not protect me against as much as I did before,” Dr. Wohl said.

If you’ve recently had COVID-19, you probably have some protection, but a second booster is always encouraged.

“If you’ve had three doses of the vaccine and you got omicron in January maybe that provides you some natural immunity,” Wohl said.

UNC Health started offering the second booster shot earlier this week. The health care system will continue on Thursday.

Person Street Pharmacy is also doing walk-ins every Wednesday.