CDC may recommend a spring Covid booster for some groups

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering whether to recommend yet another Covid booster shot this spring, especially for people most at risk for severe complications of the illness.

A spring booster would be the same vaccine that was approved last fall, which was formulated to target the XBB.1.5 subvariant. The vaccine is also very effective against the JN.1 subvariant, which is causing almost all Covid infections in the U.S. right now.

While it's unlikely that the majority of Americans would opt for another dose — just 21.9% of adults received the latest version of the vaccine — experts say that it's critical to make it available sooner rather than later.

"Waiting till the fall, I think, is a mistake," said Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "We have clear evidence that either vaccine or previous infection probably gives four to six months of relative protection against serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths, but wanes substantially after that."

Earlier this week, the CDC said it had no immediate plans to pull back on isolation guidelines for people who test positive for Covid.

Advisers to the CDC are expected to vote on whether to recommend a spring Covid booster during a meeting scheduled for Feb. 28, according to a source close to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. It's expected that the panel will focus its discussion on those most vulnerable to Covid, including people age 65 and older and anyone with a weakened immune system, such as organ transplant recipients.

"The discussion will be aimed at the people who are most accepting of public health