Local 12 News: COVID booster shots, who needs them and why?

Steve Woodle, MD, professor of surgery at the University of Cincinnati and director of solid organ transplantation at the UC Health, spoke to Local 12 News journalist Liz Bonis about plans from the FDA to update its emergency use authorization for Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

It will now allow a third dose of the vaccine in transplant patients and those who have compromised immunity. It’s clear this boost may offer them significant protection. This need for a booster has been discussed for a while. Now, researchers are sharing just who may be the first to need them and why.

Previous studies have shown the vaccine doesn’t generate the same immune boost or level of antibodies in those who have suppressed immunity.

Researchers found in transplant patients, those in cancer treatment or even those who take certain drugs that suppress the immune system: “They’re far less than what we see in the general population,” explains Woodle during the Local 12 News segment.

Woodle has been part of the national research team following patients with compromised immunity during the pandemic. He’s telling his patients, “Don’t worry about testing for antibodies; just go and get the third dose."

Listen to the full Local News 12 segment online.

Learn more about Steve Woodle, MD, online.

Featured image of Steve Woodle, MD, was taken by Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand.