Mass. doctor on COVID-19 booster shots, new variants

ERIKA: NEW NATIONAL DATA SHOWS AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF AMERICANS, IN EVERY AGE GROUP, STILL HAVEN’T RECEIVED AN UPDATED BOOSTER SHOT FOR COVID-19. HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS IS DR. DANIEL KURITZKES, CHIEF OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT BRIGHAM AND WOMEN’S HOSPITAL. GREAT TOE SEE YOU DR. KURITZKES. BEN: I GOT MINE, SHE GOT HERS. YOU GOT YOURS. AS YOU KNOW, ABOUT 227 MILLION PEOPLE ARE FULLY VACCINATED AND AGE 5 OR OLDER IN THE U.S., SO THEY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE NEW BOOSTERS, BUT THE CDC SAYS, ONLY 7.3% HAVE GOTTEN ONE. WE’RE DOING BETTER IN MASSACHUSETTS, ABOUT DOUBLE, 14.1%. THAT’S STILL AWFULLY LOW. >> I THINK WE HAVE TO BE BOTH HONEST AND REALISTIC. FIRST OF ALL, I THINK PEOPLE MOST IN NEED OF BEING BOOSTED ARE OLDER PEOPLE AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS THAT PLACE THEM AT GREATER RISK FOR SEVERE COVID-19. I THINK EVERYBODY ELSE NEEDS TO GET BOOSTED AT SOME TIME. EXACTLY WHEN PROBABLY DEPENDS A LOT ON HOW LONG AGO WAS THEIR LAST BOOST. HAVE HE HAD COVID IN THE MEANTIME. AS LONG AS PEOPLE GET BOOSTED BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR AS WE’RE MOVING IN THE REAL INDOOR SEASON, I THINK IT’S OKAY. I DON’T THINK WE NEED TO BE WORRIED THAT NOT EVERYBODY RUSHED OUT TO GET BOOSTED IMMEDIATELY. PEOPLE SHOULD BE GETTING BOOSTED OVER THE NEXT WEEKS AND MONTHS. ERIKA: WE’VE HEARD COMPLAINTS FROM SOME VIEWERS ABOUT SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS FOR NEW BOOSTERS AT LOCAL PHARMACIES. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO WAIT A WEEK OR MORE. SOMETIMES THE APPOINTMENT IS AT STORE IN ANOTHER TOWN. SO DO YOU THINK CONVENIENCE MAY BE A FACTOR TOO? >> IT COULD BE PLAYING A FACTOR. YOU WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO KEEP TRYING. WHEN I SCHEDULED MY VACCINE, IT WASN’T ALL THAT HARD TO DO. I DO THINK WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL FOR SOME INDIVIDUALS, ACCESS COULD BE A PROBLEM. WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE PROVIDE ACCESS, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE MORE DIFFICULTY GETTING TO A PHARMACY WHERE THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THE VACCINE IN ORDER TO ENSURE EQUITY IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE BOOSTERS. BEN: LET’S TALK ABOUT THE NEW OMICRON SUB-VARIANTS, EVEN THOUGH NO ONE ANYWHERE ACTUALLY WANTS TO. WE NOW HAVE B.Q.-1, B.Q.-1.1, B.F.-7. ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT ANY OF THEM? ARE THEY REALLY DIFFERENT THAN BA 4 AND BA 5? >> WE’RE GOING TO RUN OUT OF LETTERS AND NUMBERS. WHAT THE GOOD NEWS, WHAT I I THINK WE’RE SEEING IS SORT OF TURN IN THESE VARIANTS THAT CLEARLY BQ1 AND 1.1 REPLACING BA 4 AND 5. WE’RE NOT SEEING SURGE IN NUMBER OF CASES. IT MAY BE THIS NATURAL TURNOVER. WE DON’T HAVE ANY EVIDENCE THAT THIS IS EITHER MORE SEVERE IN ITS ABILITY TO CAUSE DISEASE OR MORE CONTAGIOUS. BIG PROBLEM ARE PEOPLE WHO A

Mass. physician on COVID-19 booster photographs, new variants

Up to date: 6:37 PM EDT Nov 2, 2022

Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes is the chief of infectious illnesses at Brigham and Girls’s Hospital.

Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes is the chief of infectious illnesses at Brigham and Girls’s Hospital.