With more than 8,000 Ohioans diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, urged everyone to get an updated vaccine.
"This continues a trend of variants that are evolving to become more transmissible, but are not producing a greater severity of disease," he said during a news conference Thursday.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the latest batch of updated COVID-19 vaccines last Thursday, meaning people can soon get boosted ahead of the fall season.
The vaccines have been updated to target the latest variants, including the Omicron KP.2 strain, the FDA said Thursday.
"I think ... the vaccine coming up is going to reduce the chance of getting COVID, and then, also important, is that even if you get COVID, you're going to have a very blunted case," said Dr. Donald Dumford, an infectious disease specialist at Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital, on Ideastream Public Media's Sound of Ideas on Tuesday.
Health experts have emphasized that it's important to stay updated with COVID-19 vaccines due to the virus's mutations.
"The prior immunity you have probably isn't protecting you quite as well against those new variants coming, because your antibodies don't quite lock in with the protein structure of the virus that's circulating at the time," Dumford explained.
The updated Moderna and Pfizer vaccines should be available in the coming weeks, said Dr. Prakash Ganesh, medical director for the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. Novavax, which he said has been a less popular vaccine, is still working with the FDA for approval, according to the company.
Where can I get the shot locally?
Major pharmacy brands will continue to carry the updated vaccines, as well as local health departments.
The CVS website is already advertising appointments to receive the 2024-25 shot.
Local health departments, including in Cuyahoga County, might be more cost-effective for those without health insurance, Ganesh noted.
"You might have some costs associated with administration, but that's usually a smaller amount," he said.
COVID-19 vaccines without coverage currently cost $190.99 at CVS, according to the brand's website.
The CDC’s Bridge Access Program, which previously provided free COVID-19 vaccines to adults without health insurance, ends this week.
"That Bridge Access Program was very helpful, especially in terms of helping with equity," Ganesh said.
The CDC's Vaccines for Children Program is still providing free vaccines for children, and Ganesh noted that Federally Qualified Health Centers may provide a sliding cost scale for vaccines.
Federal funding that provided vaccine access programs, like community pop-up clinics or incentives for vaccines, has also dried up, forcing more uninsured people to foot the costs.
"All that federal funding just went away, and so we all have to purchase it, and it's not the cheapest," Ganesh said. "And putting those costs on patients is not fair, either."
When should I get updated?
Timing is important when it comes to getting the vaccine, Ganesh said. Those who have recently had COVID-19 can delay their vaccine by three months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means the millions of Americans who have experienced the summer COVID-19 surge might consider waiting to get their shot.
But people should keep an eye on what's happening around them to determine if they should get boosted sooner than later. Those who are at high risk should still get the shot as soon as possible, Ganesh said, adding that the boosters are typically effective for three to six months.
"It depends on what you're seeing locally," he said on Sound of Ideas. "If you are looking at protecting yourself more during the winter months, when we're going to see a winter surge as well as RSV and flu, wait until maybe mid-October."
What's behind the summer surge?
Ohio has recorded nearly 4 million COVID-19 cases recently, with more than 280,000 of those in Cuyahoga County, according to Ohio Department of Health data. In 2024, there have been 25 COVID-19 deaths in our region, Ganesh said, adding that cases are likely underreported.
Dumford said COVID-19 surges tend to happen every six months, which correlates with waning immunity.
"We know that, typically, antibody levels start to fall off about three to four months after natural infection or after vaccination," he said, adding that virus spikes also tend to align with social gathering seasons.
Cuyahoga County continues to monitor cases, hospitalizations and deaths, as well as reports of COVID virus levels in local wastewater, Ganesh said.
Predictions for fall
Dumford said he anticipates an average flu season, and hopes RSV infections aren't as bad as last year. The key to avoiding a "triple-demic" of flu, RSV and COVID-19 surges is prevention.
"Immunizations, hygiene, washing hands, cleaning common surfaces, making sure that if you are ill and you are having symptoms, making sure you're protecting yourself, masking, distancing — the same thing we've heard before," Ganesh said.
He also said the county will also continue providing education in high-risk environments, including schools and nursing homes, as well as to patients who may remain vaccine-hesitant.
"When I see my patients and talk about it, at times it can be confrontational. I try to give them the best advice I have," he said. "There are a lot of misconceptions, because of the misinformation and disinformation that has been spread out there. But I think as a primary care physician, just having that relationship with my patients, I'm able to dispel some of those."
