With a new booster shot on the way, getting a dose of the current coronavirus vaccine is proving more difficult in San Diego and elsewhere in California.
A survey of local pharmacies and medical providers shows that while the current vaccine released last fall is still widely available, getting vaccinated during the summer surge is not as easy as it was in the spring.
The new vaccine incorporates the KP.2 subvariant of the coronavirus, which is closer in the evolutionary tree to the pathogen likely spreading in the community than XBB, the type incorporated in the current vaccine. Both, however, are descendants of the original Omicron variant that caused the largest spike in cases of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2021 and early 2022, so the current booster should still provide some protection.
CVS Health confirmed in an email this week that it is “receiving limited additional supply of the current COVID-19 vaccine” as manufacturers prepare for the rollout of an updated version this fall. The popular pharmacy chain said customers can still find doses at some of its local stores by using the vaccine finder app on its website, CVS.com.
Rite Aid, another big player in the pharmacy market, said this week that it has already moved on.
“We have cleared our current inventory of COVID-19 vaccines to prepare for updated vaccines in 2024-2025,” the company said in a statement.
Local medical providers appeared to have access to supplies of the current vaccine, though there is clearly a push toward waiting for the new booster, for which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control granted initial approval on June 27.
“The current booster does not include protection against the latest variant,” Kaiser Permanente San Diego said. “We expect to receive the supply of the new formulation in six to eight weeks.”
Scripps Health said that while it continues to vaccinate patients with the supplies it has available, “most doses will expire by the end of the week. We have been advised that we are waiting for the new formulation.”
Sharp Rees-Stealy said she still has supplies of the current vaccine at her primary care clinic but “not a lot as there is not a huge demand.”
Manufacturers are also providing a variety of responses when asked about current vaccine supplies.
Pfizer-BioNTech, maker of one of the most popular coronavirus vaccines, said its formulation “remains in supply,” directing consumers to its website to find doses near them. Moderna, another popular vaccine maker, did not respond when asked for comment on current supplies.
Novavax, the third-largest player in the coronavirus vaccine manufacturing industry, said in a statement Wednesday that doses of its 2023-2024 vaccine are “no longer available.”
“This allows Novavax to update and stockpile our 2024-2025 COVID vaccine in line with FDA guidance and be ready for distribution,” the company said.
Dr. David “Davey” Smith, a translational research virologist and co-director of the San Diego AIDS Research Center at UC San Diego, said he’s recently noticed that getting vaccinated has become a bit unpredictable.
“It’s been a bit of a treasure hunt for my patients who get their vaccines at multiple pharmacies,” Smith said. “The pharmacies say they’re preparing to receive the new vaccine when it arrives, but it seems a little odd to me.”
As for the new booster coming out in the fall, Smith said it’s probably wise to wait, especially since it takes about two weeks after vaccination for a person’s immune system to generate the protective antibodies that guard against severe illness.
The significant exception, he added, are those with weak or compromised immune systems. Getting some protection now, he said, is still a good idea for people with cancer and certain chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, which is often treated with drugs that suppress the immune system.
For those who go to their favorite retail pharmacy and are told there is no supply available, Smith recommends contacting their doctor.
“A lot of the doctors I know are keeping a list, basically a sheet of pharmacies that keep the vaccine in stock,” Smith said.
Another significant group of current vaccine seekers are those planning to travel soon who have not previously received their current booster or who are over 65 and therefore qualify under federal guidelines for a second dose four months after the first.
Here, he said, there is some value in getting the current vaccine even if the new one is just around the corner.
“If someone is going on vacation in two weeks and is eligible to get a booster but hasn’t gotten one, then yes, I would recommend getting the booster that is currently available,” Smith said. “I think the current vaccine is an acceptable match for the variant that is currently circulating.”
He explained that while vaccines work best when they target a strain that is as similar as possible to circulating types, the immune system’s antibody production is imprecise, generating a wide range of antibodies that are similar to the vaccine payload.
Original story in English
COVID vaccines have become harder to find during the summer surge
