Editorial roundup

Dec. 3 Wisconsin State Journal

Booster before Christmas

Dr. Patrick Remington finally caught COVID-19 last September.

A public health expert at UW-Madison, he’s pretty sure he was infected during a trip to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. He was on the plane, and “the guy next to me didn’t look good,” he recalled Friday.

Remington developed COVID symptoms three days after the flight, and a couple of days later he tested positive.

So getting the vaccine didn’t prevent him from getting sick, the doctor quickly acknowledged. But that doesn’t mean it failed.

Far from it.

Unlike 3,700 people in Dane County and more than 75,000 across Wisconsin, Remington didn’t have to be hospitalized for COVID. And unlike more than 600 in Dane County and 16,000 across the state, he didn’t die from the disease.

In fact, just five days after getting past COVID, Remington, 69, was back on his mountain bike, riding 40 miles in a race through northwestern Wisconsin.

The vaccine “is not really effective in preventing illness,” Remington said. But “there’s clear evidence it reduces the severity.”

He cited a scholarly article that found a nearly 80% reduction in risk of death for those who get the booster.

“It’s not a guarantee,” he said. “But it’s more effective in protecting against serious illness than it is against infection.”

That’s why Remington got the latest COVID booster last week — and why you should, too (if you haven’t already): He wants protection against getting really sick.

With plans to travel with his wife to see family this Christmas, the doctor offered a second big reason for getting the latest shot: “I don’t want to give (COVID) to my grandkids.”

Three people died from COVID-19 in Dane County last month. That’s far less than the peak of 92 deaths in the county in December 2020.

But recent samples from wastewater in the Madison area suggest the virus is surging, even though emergency room visits are low, according to Dane County public health officials.

So get the latest booster — especially if you’re older or have health conditions such as diabetes or emphysema. The new booster is an updated recipe to better protect people from severe disease. It targets a subtype of the omicron variant that’s circulating now.

Another way to think of the COVID booster is like an airbag, the doctor said. It won’t stop you from getting into a traffic accident. But it could save your life when it deploys in a crash.

The FDA approved the new COVID-19 booster in September and recommends it for everyone 6 months and older. The shot can reduce the severity of infections, prevent hospitalizations and deaths. It also can prevent long COVID systems such as fatigue, according to the FDA.

While you’re getting your COVID shot, you might want to get the latest vaccines for flu and respiratory syncytial virus. RSV is respiratory illness especially problematic in infants and older adults in colder months.

Last December, 20 people in Dane County died from COVID. Six died from flu, and one from RSV. With more people indoors during the winter, viruses have more opportunity to spread.

So get a booster and your other shots. You can find a vaccine site at go.madison.com/vaccine.

It might not stop you from coughing and developing a fever if you’re exposed to COVID. But for most people, it significantly reduces the chances of hospitalization and death.

The booster takes a couple of weeks to be effective. So sign up today. You’ll be gifting yourself and your loved ones a healthy dose of protection for Christmas and the new year.