The latest COVID-19 shots from Pfizer and Moderna are now available across Iowa for anyone ages six months or older. It’s reported the vaccines protect against the widely-circulating KP.2 Omicron variant.
Mike Brownlee, chief pharmacy officer at the University of Iowa Health Care, recommends everyone eligible get the shot, especially those who are immunocompromised or 65 and older, as those groups are at higher risk for getting severely ill.
“The goal for the vaccine is really to prevent serious illness,” Brownlee says. “That’s something we want to continue to reinforce to the public, that it may not prevent you from getting the illness, but it’s going to prevent serious illness.”
Brownlee says people can get the COVID shot at the same time as they get their shots for the flu and RSV.
“Right in the zone of September through November-ish timeframe,” he says, “to be able to get those vaccinations to protect you through the winter and the typical respiratory season.”
The Centers for Disease Control recommends waiting three months after a COVID infection to get the vaccine.
(By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)