The FDA has approved a new Covid vaccine designed to fight the latest variants of the virus. Medical experts say you should get it but there’s some debate about when.
If you’re unsure about whether to get the new Covid vaccine, you’re not alone. Even Dr. Michelle Migliore, St. Joseph County’s health officer, can’t give a quick and easy answer.
"The scientific guidance on timing is pretty frustrating right now," Migliore said.
Like many other health experts, Migliore recommends you wait until October to get the new vaccine if you’re relatively young and healthy. That will give you better protection against a surge of cases expected this winter as more people are together indoors.
But if you live with someone who’s at risk of hospitalization from Covid, if they have other health problems or are immunocompromised because of things like cancer, you should get the vaccine now.
"So if you're going to be exposed to Grandma and Grandpa, your great aunts and great uncles and these people at family gatherings, if you can protect them by getting the vaccination, then we encourage people to do that," Migliore said.
Migliore says getting the vaccine from now on is more about protecting others and reducing the severity of the illness for yourself.
