Health Officials Say Covid-19 Booster Shot May Not Be Necessary For Many Marylanders
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The concern in our state right now is the arise of Covid-19 variants. Doctors from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health spoke Wednesday about vaccine efficacy and whether or not a booster shot will be needed.
The Governor's Office tweeted that more than 99 percent of the state's covid cases are the Delta variant. The other variants have very low numbers.
For Joanne Scott and her family, they have not been taking any chances. "I'm not so much worried but I'm also of the mindset we should go with the original plan of staying socially distant, wearing our masks whether we are vaccinated or not," she said.
Dr. Anna Durbin at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health said the vaccines currently available will protect you from severe illness, regardless of the variant you come into contact with. "We want to stop Delta, meaning we have to get more people vaccinated," Durbin said. We don't need a new vaccine."
She added that vaccines will not eliminate a person's symptoms if they contract Covid-19, in some cases.
This is something many residents are aware of but Scott got the shots anyway. "Even as we know with vaccination you're not 100 percent covered, we already know that, look at how many people have gotten vaccinated and they get sick," she said.
Scott and Ron Dubner got vaccinated to protect those around them. "With the shot who knows, in ten to fifteen years what is going to happen, but I feel it was the right thing to do," Dubner said.
Doctors like Durbin are stressing the vaccines are safe and many will not need a booster. "For the vast majority of people in America, a booster dose is not indicated," said Durbin.
But some fear it is inevitable and may become a yearly thing like the flu shot.
"There's seven more spots on the card, so I knew there were more shots coming," Dubner noticed.
"I'm afraid it's like everyone's anticipating, it's going to become a yearly thing and I am a little concerned about that," Scott said.
