New COVID booster here

SANDUSKY — New COVID-19 booster shots have become available in Sandusky at local pharmacies. The Food and Drug Administration has approved emergency use authorizations for new Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax booster shots, and boosters have arrived at local pharmacies. The Kroger pharmacy in Sandusky, for example, confirmed Tuesday it has Pfizer and Moderna booster shots available. CVS has announced it has COVID-19 booster shots. The Erie County Health Department is expecting to get its first batch of booster shots at the end of September, said Pete Schade, Erie County's health commissioner. The boosters are aimed at recently circulating variants of the virus. Every American six months old or older is eligible to get them. Dr. Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, says that everyone should get the new shots. "The recent vaccines have been designed against a variant that we saw early in 2024. The immune response that's generated by these new vaccines is much more specific to the strains that are currently in circulation," Binnicker said. "Studies have shown that the immune response is much more pronounced and specific against these variants and helps keep some from getting COVID-19 and, most importantly, keep them from developing severe disease." Older Americans and people who are particularly at risk should especially make a point of getting the new shots, Binnicker said. "Those who are immune compromised, those who are over the age of 75, those with certain preexisting health conditions and those who are pregnant fall into a higher risk category should get the updated COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible," he said. People who have recently been sick with COVID-19 should wait for three months before getting the shots, while people who have recently had a COVID-19 vaccine should wait two months, the doctor said. Statistics from Ohio's state health department shows that people in Ohio are continuing to become sick and die from COVID-19. Statistics, now updated on Thursdays, show that as of Aug. 29, Ohio was averaging 235 hospitalizations and 24 deaths every week, averaged over the last three weeks.