COLUMBUS – Fall vaccination season is in full swing, with health officials urging both an updated COVID-19 shot and flu vaccine for most everyone and vaccinations against the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, for the very old and pregnant moms.
“The flu and RSV seasons do not look like they’ve started in earnest yet here in Ohio but we know that they’re both just around the corner,” Ohio Department of Health director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said during a joint virtual news conference with Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday.
DeWine revealed that he had tested negative for COVID-19 after his office said he has a positive test result last week.
The state reports that the number of weekly new COVID-19 cases in Ohio has dropped 20% in the last three weeks.
The new COVID-19 shots may be getting a little easier for adults to find amid a messy rollout, as insurers tell the government they’re resolving some barriers.
But doses for children under 12 still are frustratingly scarce although officials say they’ve started shipping.
New this year are vaccines for older adults and women in late pregnancy to guard against RSV.
Vanderhoff encouraged Ohioans 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems to be vaccinated against the disease.
“It is especially important for them. The data is really compelling that they need to get out and avail themselves of this protection,” he said.
The FDA also has approved Pfizer’s RSV vaccine to be given late in pregnancy so moms-to-be pass virus-fighting antibodies to their fetuses, offering some protection at birth. The CDC is recommending that pregnancy vaccinations be offered between September and January, when RSV tends to be most common.
People need a flu vaccine every fall because influenza also mutates each year. A flu shot and COVID-19 vaccination can be administered at the same time, though experts, including Vanderhoff, suggest getting a shot in each arm to reduce the potential discomfort.
Protection against COVID-19, whether from vaccination or from an earlier infection, wanes over time — and most Americans haven’t had a vaccine dose in about a year but the rollout of the new version has been messy.
This time the government isn’t buying and distributing shots for free. Now drugstores, doctors’ offices and other providers had to place their own orders, and sometimes canceled appointments if supplies didn’t arrive in time. Some people had to wait for their insurance companies to update the billing codes needed to cover them or risk paying out of pocket.