BALTIMORE — In January 2020, Johns Hopkins began publishing data about a then-little-known disease called COVID-19.
The world has changed a lot since then; now, nearly four years later, we're coming up on a fall round of boosters to fight it.
"We also know we have to update the vaccine to make sure it matches with the viruses that are circulating," said Dr. Andy Pekosz, a virologist with the university.
Pekosz has closely kept track of the new booster shot's track and the Tuesday news out of the CDC; it recommends everyone six months and older get boosted to prevent what it calls the “worst outcomes from COVID-19."
"If you have not received a COVID-19 vaccine in the past 2 months, get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect yourself this fall and winter," a news release from the organization said Tuesday.
A steadily growing number of people in Maryland are suffering from those worst outcomes:
On August 1, 134 people had COVID in the hospital. This past Monday, that number statewide had climbed to just shy of 300.
"It’s really important to note people in the hospital are either unvaccinated or in those high risk groups: the elderly, people with secondary medical conditions," Pekosz noted. "This message of the new vaccine is really targeting those populations, but it really is telling the entire population we should all do our best to minimize COVID cases."
The CDC says most insurance plans will cover the shots at no cost. For those who don’t, the organization says you can get a free shot from a local health center or health department or a pharmacy taking part in the organization’s Bridge Access Program - getting free boosters for uninsured Americans.
"This is the first step in moving the COVID-19 vaccines toward something more similar to what we see with influenza, where we have an annual vaccine formulation," said Pekosz.
The Maryland Department of Health provided WMAR with the following statement:
The Maryland Department of Health continues to monitor the spread of COVID-19. It is not unusual to see upticks as individuals travel and take vacations. Hospitalizations for COVID have increased for seven straight weeks, and rose more than 15% to 17,418 for the week ending Aug. 26, according to the latest data from the CDC. But that number remains below the surge the nation saw in summer 2022, when hospitalizations climbed to more than 40,000.
COVID-19 will have yearly spikes that can be mitigated with vaccines to prevent serious illness and death. An updated COVID-19 vaccine is going through the approval process. We will continue to monitor that approval process. Marylanders can also schedule appointments for routine vaccinations, which includes COVID-19, using the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) for Maryland. [guest.vams.cdc.gov]
The department encourages all Marylanders to stay up to date on their vaccines and to test when appropriate. We also continue to promote general health hygiene:
-Washing hands
-Covering your cough
-Wearing a mask when appropriate
-Staying home from work or school when sick
The health department will be expanding its public communications on COVID-19, flu and RSV throughout the season. This will include radio reads, digital ads and social media.
