This is the time of year when updated boosters for COVID-19 are typically available. But this year has been anything but typical.
Here’s a look at what we know about where to get the shot in Oregon and Washington, who can get it — and what has happened with state and federal health agencies that are offering conflicting guidelines.
Where can I get the latest COVID-19 shot?
The vaccine is now available at many retail pharmacies in Oregon and Washington. Safeway and Albertsons announced this week that the new shots are available at their pharmacies in the Northwest, and the online appointment system for CVS is showing appointments available too.
It’s also available at many primary care offices and clinics. Kaiser Permanente, for example, began offering the shots at its clinics last week.
In Oregon, pharmacists are only authorized to administer COVID-19 vaccines to children 7 and older. Younger children can get vaccinated at doctors’ offices and clinics. Many adults should also be able to get the shot from their primary care provider.
When should I get it?
Tricky question, with a relatively simple answer. Get it sometime this fall when it’s convenient for you.
Here’s what’s tricky. Studies suggest that the shot provides the greatest protection against infection for the first 30 to 90 days after you get it. After that, your antibodies start to wane, and even a recently vaccinated person can catch and transmit the virus, according to Bill Messer, an expert on viral evolution and professor at OHSU.
Messer says if you get vaccinated in September, you can expect reasonably strong immunity til December.
“Even if the virus strain hasn’t changed much, the immunity that I get from my vaccine is going to start to have waned,” he said.
Does that mean the vaccine will only protect me for three months?
No. Even when the booster is less effective at preventing infections, for many people it provides more lasting protection against the most serious complications of COVID-19, like death and hospitalization, according to Dean Sidelinger, Oregon state health officer.
Vaccines trigger a second type of immunity, through immune memory cells. When those cells detect a COVID-19 infection in someone who has been vaccinated, they recognize it and ramp up antibody protection again.
“It does help the body fight the infection and prevent the more serious complications,” Sidelinger said.
Researchers studied how last year’s COVID-19 booster performed in the real world. They found it was between about 40% and 70% effective at preventing hospitalization, compared with not receiving the booster dose.
Is the COVID vaccine really just one vaccine? What are these shots?
The COVID-19 virus is still evolving. It’s not becoming more harmful or spreading faster, but new variants are better at escaping the immunity people have developed from prior infections and vaccinations.
The FDA has authorized three vaccines for the 2025-2026 season that target some of the more common new variants.
Nuvaxovid, a protein shot made by Novavax and Sanofi, targets the JN.1 variant. It’s approved for all adults 65 and older, and people 12 to 64 who face higher risks from COVID-19 due to underlying conditions.
Moderna’s Spikevax shot is an mRNA vaccine targeting the LP.8.1 variant. It’s the only shot available for infants and younger children. It’s approved for people 6 months to 64 years old who are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and for all adults 65 and older.
Pfizer’s Comirnaty is also an mRNA shot targeting the LP.8.1 variant. It is authorized for people ages 5 to 64 who face higher risks from COVID-19, and for all adults 65 and older.
Why are the rules different from one state to the next?
Usually, the federal government approves and recommends vaccines, and states adopt those recommendations. But this year the process has become politicized.
On Friday, advisors to the CDC rolled back recommendations that this year’s booster be given routinely to adults 18 and over, but stopped short of requiring a prescription to get one.
In Oregon, those recommendations may not matter much. The state, along with at least 17 others, announced a series of administrative actions that untether state policy on vaccines from the CDC’s recommendations, citing concerns that the CDC’s advisory group no longer represents scientific consensus or provides credible evaluations of vaccines.
State health officials recommend the booster be given to all adults 65 and up, children 6 months to 23 months, and other high risk groups like pregnant women and people with underlying conditions. They’ve also recommended the shot for anyone outside those groups who chooses it.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
