University of Minnesota Infectious Disease Researcher Dr. Michael Osterholm joined News Talk 830 WCCO’s Chad Hartman to discuss the state of COVID and why he says the virus’s vaccine was wrongly promoted when it first became available.
Osterholm says that when the COVID-19 vaccine was first released, health experts made it seem as though you would only need to get it once, much like the measles vaccine, something he says was a misstep.
“We’ve not done a good enough job describing what has happened with this vaccine,” Osterholm said. “When the data first came out on these vaccines almost two years ago, we… promoted them as they were like measles vaccines, where two doses and you’re protected for life.”
However, this wasn’t true, as the vaccine and virus are not the same as the measles virus. Instead, Osterholm says the vaccine and virus are like another annual shot and sickness.
“What’s happened with the COVID vaccines is they’ve become much more like the flu vaccine. Where you do need these booster doses with some regularity,” Osterholm said. “In this case with the flu, obviously, we do it annually, and with COVID, it could get to the point where it’s every six months or so.”
Over 660 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered into the arms of Americans, according to the CDC. However, Osterholm says that many stopped after the first two shots, and even more stopped after the first round of booster shots.
When it comes to why Americans should stay up to date on their shots and ensure that they are keeping themselves safe from catching the virus, Osterholm pointed to current death totals from the virus, as more people are dying every day from COVID than they are from lung cancer.
“If you’re vaccinated, it doesn’t mean you won’t get seriously ill and die. There’s still some risk. But you’re three times more likely to die if you’re not vaccinated,” Osterholm said.
