Carrying the torch for the new COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s top official on Thursday visited an East Bay assisted living facility to urge Americans, and especially seniors, to get the latest shot before the virus spikes again this winter.
Speaking from a pop-up vaccine clinic that disrupted Marymount Villa’s “Sit and Be Fit” and “Coloring Pages” activities, CDC Director Mandy Cohen said that at least 7 million Americans have received the new formulation in the past several weeks. That’s a tiny percentage of the hundreds of millions who are eligible, and a far cry from the uptake of the first booster doses released in 2021.
She acknowledged bumps in the rollout, including problems with early supplies, and insurance and billing snafus. In the past, the federal government bought and distributed all the vaccine doses. “This time we are using the private sector,” Cohen said. “We are troubleshooting.”
Now that insurance providers are footing the bill, there are federal programs to provide the vaccine free of cost for those who are uninsured. “You should not be paying out of pocket for these vaccines,” Cohen emphasized.
Tomás Aragón, director of the California Department of Public Health, joined Cohen and other local public health officials in San Leandro to promote the newly formulated COVID vaccine before this winter’s respiratory virus season is upon us, especially for those 65 and older.
California is on the downturn of the most recent COVID wave. Test positivity rates were down from 13% in late August, to 8% at the end of September. Daily hospital admissions for COVID in the state grew to about 400 early last month, but have started to drop, and dipped below 300 by the end of last month.
That didn’t deter Radmila “Mila” Erickson, a resident at Marymount Villa, who didn’t even have to leave home to get vaccinated along with her husband. “I always get the shots,” said Erickson, who describes herself as a vaccine “diehard.” “We lived through polio,” she said, recalling classmates from junior high and high school who got polio, and some who did not survive.
This year’s vaccine, which is no longer referred to as a booster, is the first of what is expected to be annual COVID vaccine updates. It has been recommended by the CDC for everyone 6 months and older, very similar to the flu shot that is reformulated each year.
While the COVID vaccine was the focus Thursday, Cohen also mentioned that the vaccine clinic was administering shots for the other two viruses that public health officials are most worried about; influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV. “We’re making history this season as we have vaccines for all three of these illnesses.”
Cohen said she got her own dose of the COVID vaccine this week, and that her children and her parents will also be getting vaccinated. “Getting vaccinated is the best way to make sure you’re going to have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas,” she said.
For more information about where to get the latest COVID shot, check with your medical provider, go to covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/ or call call 833-422-4255.
