W.Va. coronavirus czar convinced updated COVID boosters are safe, needed

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — West Virginia's coronavirus czar is convinced the new updated COVID-19 boosters authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to target today’s most common, highly contagious omicron strain are safe and needed.

The FDA is tweaking the recipe for shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives.

The hope here is that the modified vaccines will take the edge off yet another winter surge. So far, vaccines given in the United States have targeted the original coronavirus.

The new boosters are half an original recipe and half protection against the newest, more contagious omicron versions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will decide who gets the FDA’s mix.

Dr. Clay Marsh, West Virginia's coronavirus czar, said those eligible should get the booster as soon as they can and will program the new guidelines into the West Virginia COVID-19 due date calculator on the state Department of Health and Human Resources dashboard as soon as they are available.

"It looks like it's going to really increase the number of anti-bodies that will be directed against the BA.5 variant of omicron,” Marsh said. “So it should be better at protecting people from the current form of the virus, the omicron BA.5 form that is causing about 85% to 90% of the infections.”

West Virginia added nine coronavirus deaths Wednesday and its overall vaccination and booster rate is only about 55%. Marsh is still awaiting federal guidelines, but he expects the elderly and immuno-compromised likely will be first in line.

"Those will be people that we certainly will make every attempt to make sure have priority of getting access to the vaccine,” Marsh said.

But Marsh expects broader use. Regulators OK’d the vaccines without results from human trials, which have just started, but Marsh is confident of their safety. A two-month gap between a second shot or a previous booster is expected to be the rule.

Before shots begin, the CDC must recommend who should get the additional dose. The CDC’s advisers will debate that Thursday.