125 Update: Omicron and COVID Vaccination in Aging (12.16.21 Edition)

 In This Episode:

This update covers Omicron, COVID boosters, plus how to search the CDC data to see just how well vaccines have worked, even in older adults. I also show the data demonstrating that vaccinated people age 80+ are still at higher risk of serious COVID than unvaccinated people under age 50; this is why fully vaccinated older adults should take precautions during the current surge!

(View the show notes page to watch my subtitled talk and my slides.)

This episode includes:

• What do we know about Omicron so far, and will the vaccines remain protective
• Should I get vaccinated against COVID?
• Should my 90-year-old mother get the COVID vaccine?
• How well does the vaccine work in older adults? How to use CDC data to see how well it works in different age groups
• Should I worry that the vaccine might harm me (or my frail older parent)?
• Who should get a COVID booster and why?
• How to stay safer during the holidays.

Related Episodes:

123 Update: COVID Vaccination in Aging (10.28.21 Edition)

Related Resources:

• BHWA:
  • COVID Vaccination for Aging Adults: What to Know & Do
• CDC:
  • CDC COVID Data Tracker 
    • County view (to check your local transmission rates)
    • Rates of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths by Vaccination Status
    • Rates of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations by vaccination status
  • Nursing Home Covid-19 Data Dashboard
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots
  • Selected Adverse Events Reported after COVID-19 Vaccination
  • SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) Variant United States, December 1 8, 2021 (report on first Omicron cases in US)
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose Safety (from 11/19/21 CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force Meeting)
• From medical journals:
  • Preliminary findings from study after Christmas party in Oslo (Norwegian Institute of Public Health)
  • Protection of BNT162b2 Vaccine Booster against Covid-19 in Israel (NEJM Oct 2021)
• From news and other media:
  • Omicron: What We Know About the New Coronavirus Variant (NY Times Dec 2021)
  • As U.S. Nears 800,000 Virus Deaths, 1 of Every 100 Older Americans Has Perished (NY Times 12/13/21)
  • For COVID-19, age matters as much as vaccination status (9/27/21)
  • I’m fully vaccinated and I also had COVID. Do I need a booster? (NPR Nov 2021)
  • COVID-19 preventable mortality and leading cause of death ranking (Kaiser Family Foundation analysis, Dec 2021)