An additional vaccine dose starting in the fall of 2023 is expected to increase protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 symptomatic and severe disease that has waned since the last COVID-19 vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends patients to wait at least 6 months after their last dose to get another dose. If you are eligible to an additional dose now, please wait until the fall to receive your next dose of COVID-19 vaccine in order to maximize your protection during the winter respiratory virus season.
If you recently had COVID-19, you should wait at least six months to get your additional COVID-19 vaccine dose.
- Solid organ transplant recipients continue to be at risk of severe diseases from COVID-19. We strongly recommend getting an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose this fall so you are protected as we head into the cold and flu season. This is in line with NACI, which strongly recommends an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine beginning in the fall of 2023 for those previously vaccinated against COVID-19. The updated vaccine will help protect against the latest variants.
- Additional COVID-19 vaccine doses in the fall will be formulations updated to target more recent SARS-CoV-2 variants. Individuals vaccinated with the updated formulation are expected to benefit from a better immune response against these variants compared to current vaccines.
- COVID-19 vaccination of solid organ transplant recipients will help reduce their risk of severe disease that could potentially result in hospitalization and death.
- Solid organ transplant recipients can get a flu vaccine at the same time as their additional COVID-19 vaccine dose. It has been shown that COVID-19 vaccines may be given concurrently (i.e., same day), or at any time before or after non-COVID-19 vaccines. COVID-19 and flu vaccines are expected to be available at pharmacies and vaccination clinics around BC this fall. (Influenza (flu) vaccine | Immunize BC)
- An additional dose of vaccine starting this fall is particularly important for those who have not been previously infected and have protection from vaccination alone. Even if you have previously been infected, protection against infection will decrease over time. There are no known safety risks with receiving a vaccine after a recent SARS-CoV-2 infection.