Should you get another COVID shot now?

Patients keep asking Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, the same question: Is it time to get another COVID shot?

The virus is circulating at high levels across the country. That might suggest it’s prime time for another dose of protection. But updated vaccines that target newer variants of the virus are expected to arrive this fall.

Experts said the right time for your next COVID shot will depend on your health status and what you’re hoping to get from the vaccines.

If you’re trying to get the most protection against the leading variants:

Doctors say that many people may want to wait for the updated vaccines, which have been retooled to better protect against the current dominant strains of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that everyone ages 6 months or older receive an updated shot when they become available.

An upcoming vaccine from biotechnology company Novavax will target JN.1, a coronavirus variant that accounted for the bulk of cases in the United States this winter. The Pfizer and Moderna shots coming this fall will target KP.2, a newer offshoot of JN.1 that’s been circulating this summer. The variants responsible for the largest share of cases in the United States right now, KP.3 and KP.3.1.1, are closely related to KP.2 and JN.1.

The vaccines that are currently available, by contrast, target older omicron variants that fizzled out as JN.1 took hold this past winter.

That doesn’t mean the current shots are ineffective. But when possible, it’s best to get a vaccine that closely matches the variants that are circulating, said Dr. Nathan Lo, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University who has studied COVID vaccines.

If you are at higher risk for severe disease:

A CDC spokesperson said that certain groups of people at higher risk for severe disease might benefit from getting a shot this summer, before the updated vaccines are available. That includes those who are 65 or older, are pregnant, are immunocompromised or have certain underlying medical conditions, or who live in long-term care facilities.

Those who have never been vaccinated against COVID may also benefit from doing so now, rather than waiting for the fall.

Getting a shot now might mean you can’t get an updated vaccine right when it comes out, because the doses need to be spaced out. Health officials are expected to issue guidance on how long someone should wait between vaccines when the new shots become available. In the meantime, people who are at high risk should talk with their doctors about the ideal interval between vaccines, said Fikadu Tafesse, a virus expert at Oregon Health & Science University.

If you were recently infected:

Getting vaccinated too soon after an infection or previous shot likely won’t give you much of an added benefit, said Aubree Gordon, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Michigan. The CDC has previously said that if you recently had COVID, you can wait three months before getting a dose of the vaccine.

And because the variants spreading this summer are closely related to one another, a recent COVID infection will likely offer substantial protection against the most common strains circulating now.

If you are trying to avoid getting sick before a big event:

Chin-Hong said he often hears from patients who have weddings or summer travel coming up, and they want to know if vaccines will reduce their chances of getting sick and having to cancel. Getting vaccinated with the currently available shots would likely lower your risk of a COVID infection for several weeks, he said.

“It will give you more confidence that your plans won’t be disrupted,” Chin-Hong said. (Keep in mind that it takes a week or two for the antibodies to ramp up.)

Beyond that, vaccines will continue to guard against serious disease, hospitalization, death and long COVID for months. Data from the CDC has shown that people who received an updated vaccine after they became available last year were roughly 54% less likely to get COVID from mid-September 2023 to January 2024.

Those who do get a shot now may still want to get the updated vaccine down the line in a few months, Chin-Hong said. Whether or not you get the vaccine now, he said, you will definitely want added protection heading into the colder months, when cases are expected to rise even further.

“I’m more worried about this winter than this summer,” he said.