Updated booster shots have bolstered Americans’ defenses against serious COVID, reducing the risk of hospitalization by roughly 50% compared with certain groups inoculated with the original vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in a pair of studies published Friday.
The research represents the agency’s first look at how the reformulated boosters, tailored to protect against recent omicron variants, are performing in the prevention of severe consequences of infection with the virus, including emergency department visits and hospitalizations.
Federal health officials are urging Americans to get the updated booster shots, hoping to revive a lagging vaccination campaign. So far, though, fewer than one-fifth of American adults and only one-third of people ages 65 and older have received updated shots, reflecting a retreat in many parts of the country from the more aggressive vaccination drives earlier in the pandemic.