White House Press Secretary mocked for suggesting a COVID vaccine while Christmas shopping
White House Press Secretary mocked for suggesting a COVID vaccine while Christmas shopping
Don't forget to practice a little self-care for yourself as you purchase for your friends and family this Christmas season, the press secretary tweeted on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when American consumers traditionally start their holiday shopping.
Take care of yourself this holiday season by purchasing something special for yourself and obtaining updated COVID and flu vaccinations, she said.
Her offer was instantly dismissed by many Twitter users, prompting immediate backlash online.
One user made fun of Karine "Care Bear" Jean-Pierre by calling her "a spoonful of sugar."
Between September, when the new boosters went into use, to early November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined around 360,000 COVID-19 tests that were provided to persons with symptoms resembling a coronavirus at pharmacies across the US. Researchers evaluated the level of vaccination between individuals who ultimately developed COVID-19 and those who did not.
According to the CDC, the novel omicron-targeting booster increased protection against symptomatic infection by 30 to 56 percent, depending on how many previous vaccines a person had, when they had them, and their age.
According to Dr. Ruth Link-Gelles of the CDC, who oversaw the study, those who had only had two doses of the original COVID-19 vaccination at least eight months prior are those who benefited most. However, she added, even those who received a midsummer booster of the previous vaccine before getting the new fall formulation were 30% to 40% more protected.
We consider it to be an additional benefit or incremental advantage of receiving one more dose, in this case a bivalent, Link-Gelles said.
In an effort to enhance the protection provided by the initial COVID-19 vaccines as the virus evolved, the revised boosters focus on the BA.5 omicron strain, which until recently was the most prevalent variety.
According to the study's principal investigator, Dr. Ruth Link-Gelles of the CDC, those who had only received two doses of the original COVID-19 vaccine at least eight months prior saw the greatest benefits. However, she noted that even those who received a summertime booster of the original vaccine prior to receiving the new fall formulation were 30% to 40% more protected than if they had forgone this most recent shot.
We view it as the incremental or additional benefit of receiving one more dose, and in this instance, that additional dose is a bivalent, Link-Gelles said.
The updated boosters aim to enhance the protection provided by the first COVID-19 vaccines as the virus evolved by focusing on the BA.5 omicron strain, which was previously the most prevalent type.
No matter the variation, the original vaccinations have provided substantial protection against fatal illness and severe sickness, but protection against minor infection is waning. It's too soon to say how long the additional protection against symptomatic infection lasts because the CDC's investigation only followed the first few months of the new boosters' use.
However, Link-Gelles noted that "definitely as we approach the holiday season, personally I would want the maximum security possible if I'm seeing my parents and grandparents." "There, infection protection is going to be incredibly important because you might be able to prevent yourself from infecting a grandmother or other family member."
Older people and others at high risk have been strongly encouraged not to since even protection against severe sickness decreased somewhat when BA.5 rose.