Post : Do Seniors Need a Ninth COVID Shot?
URL : [link removed]
Posted : March 9, 2024 at 6:18 pm
Author : Vincent Iannelli, MD
Tags : bivalent covid vaccine, Bobby Kennedy, booster dose, Helen Petousis-Harris, hypervaccinated, JN.1, Jordan Schachtel, ninth covid shot, Omnicron, updated covid vaccine, variants, XBB.1.5
Categories : Vaxopedia

Why do some people think that seniors need a ninth COVID shot because COVID vaccines are ineffective?

[link removed] Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. fails to recognize that updated COVID vaccines are needed to provide extra protection, as the COVID virus evolves and new strains can make us sick. And the study he cites as "documented harm" found that in "more than 99 million people vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the risk up to 42 days after vaccination was generally similar to the background risk for the majority of outcomes." They found a few potential rare safety signals ( [link removed] ) which are being investigated.

The usual suspects...

Do Seniors Need a Ninth COVID Shot?

More specifically, this misinformation ( [link removed] ) about COVID vaccines comes from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. ( [link removed] )

> "Today, CDC Director Mandy Cohen endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation for adults ages 65 years and older to receive an additional updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine dose. The recommendation acknowledges the increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19 in older adults, along with the currently available data on vaccine effectiveness."
>
> Older Adults Now Able to Receive Additional Dose of Updated COVID-19 Vaccine

To be fair, it is true that there is a new recommendation for adults ages 65 years and older ( [link removed] ) to receive another COVID vaccine dose.

But even with this dose, that doesn't mean that most folks would have gotten nine doses of COVID vaccine to be up-to-date ( [link removed] ) and fully protected against COVID.

So far, there has been:

* the original primary series (two doses) - Dec 2020

* a booster dose - Sept 2021

* the bivalent booster dose which targeted Omnicron variants - Sept 2022

* an updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine which targets XBB.1.5 variant - Sept 2023

It is easy to see that's five doses for most adults.

Six doses if you add in the new recommendation for seniors.

So how can you get to nine doses?

> "Adults ages 50 years and older: A booster dose is recommended at least 5 months after the second primary series dose, for a total of 3 doses. mRNA vaccines are preferred for the first booster dose. A second mRNA booster dose could benefit people ages 50 years and older, as they are at increased risk for severe COVID-19. People ages 50 years and older may choose to receive a second booster dose using an mRNA vaccine if it has been at least 4 months after the first booster dose, for a total of 4 doses."
>
> Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Approved or Authorized in the United States

Although not a formal recommendation, older adults have had the option to get extra doses of their COVID-19 vaccines for extra protection.

And if, and only if, you got all of those extra doses, then that could get you to nine doses... But again, those extra doses were suggestions for seniors, not a formal recommendation, not like this latest extra dose.

Does it matter though?

[link removed] A man in Germany, as part of a scheme to get others vaccine certificates, received over 200 COVID vaccine injections and not only did he not have any adverse effects, he never got COVID. So it doesn't seem like you can get too many COVID shots!

By saying seniors need nine shots, Kennedy ( [link removed] ) and others are trying to scare folks ( [link removed] ) into thinking that COVID vaccines don't work, a common anti-vaccine argument ( [link removed] ) .

[link removed] Jordan Schachtel pushes the myth that extra COVID vaccines don't work and we just get them to help Big Pharma ( [link removed] ) make money. What he doesn't tell folks is that many of the new variants ( [link removed] ) , including JN.1 ( [link removed] ) , are closely related and are still a good match for the latest updated COVID vaccine ( [link removed] ) . And if you were using his article to play anti-vax bingo, you would very quickly win a free pizza!

Of course, we know that COVID vaccines work ( [link removed] ) very well and that we have needed updated COVID vaccines to cover new COVID variants ( [link removed] ) .

So do most seniors, which is why 92% of seniors have had a COVID vaccine! Unfortunately, fewer, only about 40%, have had the latest updated vaccine, which is why this kind of propaganda ( [link removed] ) from Kennedy ( [link removed] ) is dangerous.

[link removed] How is this for a vaccinated vs unvaccinated study ( [link removed] ) ? Folks who got the updated COVID-19 bivalent booster ( [link removed] ) were 14 times less likely to die compared with those who received no COVID vaccine!

We also know that COVID vaccine are safe ( [link removed] ) , with few risks ( [link removed] ) .

So get vaccinated and fully protected ( [link removed] ) if you want to avoid a serious COVID infection, which could be life-threatening, or could lead to long-COVID.

> "This is the vital information people need for making informed decisions. What's my risk from the disease and of course, what's my risk from taking the vaccine? Now, with all of these vaccines, overwhelming, the best group to be in is in the vaccinated group by huge margins."
>
> GVDN Co-Director Dr. Helen Petousis-Harris on Science in Action ( [link removed] )

If you're a senior, if you haven't had it yet, you do need an updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine which targets the XBB.1.5 variant (we all do) and then you should get another dose four months later. Will that get you to a total of nine doses of COVID vaccines? If you considered yourself high risk and wanted to be fully protected, it might have.

More on COVID Shots for Seniors

* The Truth About COVID-19 Vaccines ( [link removed] )

* I’m Not Anti-Vaccine, I Just Don’t Believe in the COVID-19 Vaccine ( [link removed] )

CDC - Older Adults Now Able to Receive Additional Dose of Updated COVID-19 Vaccine ( [link removed] )

CDC - Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines ( [link removed] )

CDC - Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States ( [link removed] )

* COVID-19 Shots: What Older Adults Need to Know ( [link removed] )

* Researchers investigate a man who received 217 Covid vaccinations ( [link removed] )

* Adaptive immune responses are larger and functionally preserved in a hypervaccinated individual ( [link removed](24)00134-8/fulltext )

* What You Need to Know About XBB.1.5, the Latest Omicron Variant ( [link removed] )

* COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical (VaST) Work Group Reports ( [link removed] )

* Three New Studies Show the COVID Vaccines Are Very Safe for Children ( [link removed] )

* The largest safety study of COVID vaccines finds rare issues ( [link removed] )

* How antivaxxers weaponize vaccine safety studies to falsely portray vaccines as dangerous ( [link removed] )

* COVID-19 vaccines and adverse events of special interest: A multinational Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN) cohort study of 99 million vaccinated individuals ( [link removed] )

* COVID vaccinations reduced death rates in Europe by 57% ( [link removed] )

* COVID-19 Vaccines Are NOT Gene Therapy ( [link removed] )

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