The boosters would bolster immunity among older Americans, officials say

NEW YORK (TIP): New Yorkers , 65 and older,  may soon be able to get a second COVID-19 vaccine booster to increase the durability of their coronavirus vaccinations, a Patch report says. Pfizer and its coronavirus vaccine partner, BioNTech, have asked the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization for the shots in an effort to bolster immunity among older Americans.

COVID-19 infection rates have declined significantly in the last month. The seven-day average of cases Wednesday was about 30,500 nationwide, compared with about 129,250 on Feb. 16, according to a database kept by The New York Times.

Health officials are optimistic as the third year of the pandemic begins, couching that with concern about an increase in so-called stealth omicron cases around the country. The omicron subvariant BA.2 has grown more common in the two months since it was first detected in the United States in January, and now represents about a quarter of new cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC uses Nowcast, a model that estimates proportions of circling variants.

“To identify and track SARS-CoV-2 variants, CDC uses genomic surveillance,” the CDC said. “CDC’s national genomic surveillance system collects SARS-CoV-2 specimens for sequencing through the National SARS-CoV-2 Strain Surveillance program, as well as SARS-CoV-2 sequences generated by commercial or academic laboratories contracted by CDC and state or local public health laboratories. Virus genetic sequences are analyzed and classified as a particular variant.”

In New York, according to Nowcast, of 3,327 total sequences, 97.46 percent are identified as B.1.1.529, or the omicron variant; 2.09 percent are classified as BA.2, or the omicron subvariant; 0.45 percent are B.1.617.2, or delta; and 0.00 are classified as “other”.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday, March 17,  that statewide, the seven-day average positivity rate had been below 2 percent for the past 13 days. On Long Island, the positivity rate stood at 1.67 percent. A total of 13 deaths were reported Wednesday, she said. On Thursday, Hochul also announced that more than 20 million COVID-19 over-the-counter tests would be distributed across the state through the spring to bolster New York State’s ongoing preparedness efforts.

Pfizer-BioNTech said the request for FDA authorization of a second booster is based on “real-world” data from studies in Israel, which is among a handful of countries that offer the second boosters to older people.

Those studies showed confirmed infections were two times lower and rates of severe illness were four times lower among people who received the second Pfizer booster, compared to people who received only one, according to a press release.

Moderna, which also makes a two-shot mRNA vaccine and booster, hasn’t asked the FDA for approval of a fourth shot in the series, but Stephane Bancel, the company’s chief executive, said at a health care conference in January that he thinks more boosters will be necessary.

Moderna is continuing its bivalent omicron-specific booster trial, which, uses an omicron-specific booster and the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Our goal has been to remain ahead of the virus, and we are committed to generating and sharing data with public health authorities as they prepare for the fall booster season,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a news release.

COVID-19 money was pulled from the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill approved last week, leaving President Joe Biden’s coronavirus road map in some doubt. Some Biden officials have said they believe all adults should get a second booster, regardless of age, as immunity wanes. The FDA will convene its outside advisory committee in April to discuss whether COVID-19 booster shots should be part of the annual influenza vaccine campaign encouraging all Americans to get their shots in the fall, ahead of cold-weather season when people are cooped up inside, The Washington Post reported.