Give Yourself a Boost

Vermont’s Commissioner of Health Dr. Mark Levine shared on Tuesday that 63 percent of Vermonters have received their booster dose of COVID vaccine. While cases of omicron are declining, additional waves of omicron or other variants could still emerge. Future waves are less likely and less likely to have a major impact in populations that are boosted. Dr. Levine and his team are aiming to raise the rate of boosted people to 90 percent or higher. There are two major reasons why:

Getting boosted will keep your case mild. Even people who have had two doses of vaccine can get a case of COVID that takes them out of work or school for a few weeks. A large, national study from Israel, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirmed the value of boosters by showing a significant drop in infection among those who received them. “The booster dose reduces the rate of infection for such vaccine recipients by a factor of 10,” the study states. Another study of residents of Los Angeles County, showed that, during both delta and omicron surges, incidence of infection and hospitalizations were highest among unvaccinated people, moderate for those with two doses of vaccine, and lowest for vaccinated people with a booster.

The benefits of keeping yourself healthy ripple outward. When you protect yourself, you decrease spread to everyone, including those you love, your coworkers, and your neighbors. Getting boosted helps keep schools open and beneficial activities happening as scheduled. It supports robust economic activity. People who are not infected with COVID or caring for COVID-positive kids can go to work. Flights can run on time, and restaurants can stay open.

You could say that boosting yourself gives us all a boost toward endemic-stage COVID! Safe, mask-free gatherings, concerts, travel, and all of the fun we have missed over the past two years are a lot closer when we are all up to date on our vaccines. The only thing left to do is to schedule your vaccine or booster appointment or walk in. Visit https://svhealthcare.org/COVID-Resource-Center for complete details.

Marie George, MD, FIDSA, is an infectious disease specialist at SVMC Infectious Disease, part of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, in Bennington.