Everyone’s asking: Should I get the second booster?

The answer is absolutely YES! You should get any booster available to you. You already did the hard work of getting your two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna or the single dose J&J/Janssen. (Remember the days when it felt like you were calling every pharmacy in the city?) And, you may have even gotten a booster dose. But being up to date includes getting all boosters when you’re eligible so you have the very best protection there is. You don’t want to skip any boosters available to you.

Protection from the vaccine wanes over time in older adults. Studies show that vaccination effectiveness is 90-93% against hospitalization immediately after getting the first booster. But for older adults, that effectiveness falls to 73-79% about 6 months after the first booster. That drop in effectiveness coupled with the highly transmissible Omicron variant means you need to use every tool available to you to stay safe. And getting all the recommended boosters is a key part of the toolkit.

Getting vaccinated saves people’s lives, especially for those 50 and older. On average more than 350 people are dying of COVID-19 every day in the U.S. People over age 50 who have received two booster doses are 4x less likely to die from COVID-related complications than those with one booster and 42x less likely to die from COVID-related complications than those who are unvaccinated.

The data is clear! You put in the labor of scouring the internet to find a vaccine and waiting in long lines. Don’t let that effort go to waste. If you’re not boosted, you’re not giving yourself all the benefits of your vaccine that you worked so hard to get in the first place.

It’s never been easier or quicker to get boosted (or vaccinated) in Philadelphia!

Any questions?  See our vaccine FAQ or call (215) 685-5488

Read more about boosters from the CDC.