What's the story on Covid shots?

There was a surge in Covid infections this summer, and most predictions are for another in the coming winter. We are also facing flu and RSV outbreaks as surely as the sun rises.

The best defense against respiratory viruses is immunization.

While nothing is guaranteed 100% safe, vaccines offer the best combination of effectiveness and safety of any medical procedure offered.

Upsetting all our plans for combatting the viruses is the chaos sown by RFK Jr, our conspiracy-theorist Secretary of HHS.

Unless you have decided to ignore all available news media, you must be aware that Kennedy summarily fired the entire expert committee that was meant to advise Americans on which immunizations to receive and more recently arranged to fire the head of the CDC (Communicable Disease Center) because she refused to endorse his unsupported anti-vax ideas.

While Kennedy has zero medical or scientific training on which to base his opinions, he has made millions of dollars in recent years peddling his conspiracy theories, both as salary from the Children’s Health Defense group he founded and from generous “referral fees” paid to him by law firms when he sent plaintiffs to them claiming injury from vaccines.

The upshot is that while in past years, Covid boosters were recommended for all, Kennedy’s hand-picked FDA staff recently approved them only for people over 65 or those with medical conditions that put them at high risk for severe outcomes from Covid.

What does that mean in practical terms?

If you are over 65, you can get the shot just as in past years: from your doctor, at a community clinic or at your local pharmacy.

There is a long list of qualifying conditions that put you at high risk. Some are obvious, such as HIV, blood cancer, diabetes and immunodeficiency, which affect only a small number.

However, the list includes many other less obvious conditions that are common: obesity, current or past smoking, physical inactivity and current or recent pregnancy.

In many states, the chain pharmacies have dropped their “come on in, it is free” approach of prior years, fearing they will not be reimbursed under the new guidelines. If you fit one of the broad groups that I listed, you may have to get your shot at a medical office or ask your doctor’s office to send you a prescription outlining your eligibility to take to the pharmacy.

It is worth the extra effort. While most of us by now have been vaccinated and/or been ill with Covid, you CAN catch it again (and again) as it mutates, and vaccination is the best way to ensure it is a nuisance rather than a serious illness.


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