Understanding Boosters

Booster shots are now available in Wake County for immunocompromised individuals meeting CDC criteria.

Posted 1:14 p.m. Aug 24, 2021 — Updated 1:36 p.m. Aug 24, 2021

Liisa Ogburn

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the more contagious Delta variant now accounts for more than 93% of new cases. Of those sick enough to be hospitalized with COVID, the North Carolina DHHS states that more than 90 percent are unvaccinated. Furthermore, those hospitalized tend to be sicker.

How much protection does being fully vaccinated confer against the new Delta variant? The short answer is that there is variation among studies and depending on who is studied. In one study based in England and published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Pfizer vaccine was 88 percent effective against infections that caused symptoms. However, in another study based in the US among vulnerable populations living in nursing facilities by the Mayo Clinic and still undergoing peer review, researchers found a drop in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine’s effectiveness against delta infections to 42 percent and the Moderna to 76 percent effectiveness. A third study based in New York of the population as a whole found a modest drop in efficacy from 92 percent to 80 percent.

Researchers say the drop in effectiveness tends to happen around the 6 to 8 month timeframe after receiving the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccination; consequently, the Biden administration is recommending that those more vulnerable to the effects of COVID receive a booster shot eight months after they've received their second dose.

While a booster will increase the efficacy of protection against the Delta variant--which is especially important for protecting the most vulnerable, what would be more protective is increasing the percentage of people fully vaccinated, particularly those people working or living with the most vulnerable. Currently, 59% of the adult population in North Carolina are fully vaccinated and 63% have received at least one shot.

Last Wednesday, the US Health and Human Services announced that they will begin offering coronavirus booster shots to fully vaccinated adults who received the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots the week of September 20th.

In North Carolina, due to the rapid increase in hospitalizations due to COVID, some counties began offering booster shots last week to people who met the CDC's following criteria:

Cancer patients undergoing active treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood.
Organ transplant recipients who are taking medicine to suppress their immune systems.
Stem cell transplant recipients who are less than two years out from their transplant and taking medicine to suppress their immune systems.
Those with moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency, like DiGeorge syndrome or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.
Those with an advanced or untreated HIV infection.
Anyone receiving high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress one’s immune response.

To receive a booster shot, one must bring their vaccination card to a distribution site offering the same type of vaccination they received initially. They must also sign a digital form confirming they are immunocompromised. To find a location in Wake County offering booster shots, visit here.

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