With the cold months of flu season in full swing, the IU Student Health Center is offering the updated Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to students, faculty and staff.
Students can book an appointment to receive the new booster on the IU Student Health Center website. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most insurance plans will cover the cost of the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters. For those without insurance, a COVID-19 updated shot at the Health Center costs $165.
Updates on COVID-19 from the CDC can be found here.
As the COVID-19 virus evolves, vaccines and boosters wane in effectiveness. According to a study from JAMA Network Open, multiple COVID-19 vaccines’ effectiveness dropped to 14% after six months. Updated shots can restore the original effectiveness, but that also drops after time.
The CDC said it recommends individuals ages 6 months and up get the updated shot for the upcoming winter months to improve resilience against the adaptive nature of the COVID-19 virus.
Yearly shots and vaccinations help reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms, extended hospital stays and death, according to John Hopkins Medicine. They also reduce the risk of developing “long COVID,” a term describing cases where symptoms of COVID-19 persist for long periods of time.
Along with COVID-19 boosters, the IU Student Health Center offers other vaccines such as flu shots.
From September 2022 to February 2023, Indiana’s weekly number of COVID-19 cases ranged from 8,000 to 94,000. Nationally, the weekly range spanned from 250,000 to 450,000 COVID-19 cases over that same range.
