To the Editor:
On Tuesday, the Madison County Health Advisory Committee met and discussed the current Covid situation.
In early September 2022, the bivalent booster was quickly rolled out, aimed at the BA.4 and BA.5 virus variants. Five months later, 52 million Americans have received the bivalent booster, roughly 16 percent of the population.
Health department staff provided data that the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are now gone, and the current variants are XBB.1.5 and BQ.1.1.
Committee members brought up that the federal government has announced that May 11 will be the end of the Covid emergency.
What is coming next? Will there be a fourth booster (and second bivalent booster) aimed at new variants?
We can’t predict the future, but one idea is that the shot may be available annually, similar to the flu vaccine.
Members of the health advisory committee again stressed the principle of informed consent, and encouraged people to do their research, consult with medical professionals and decide for themselves.
Kurt Prenzler, CPA and Madison County Chairman