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"I'm confused about whether to get the second booster. I'm 55, work in health care, have had both vaccines and the first booster, and got omicron in January. I'm going on a trip out of the country in April and don't know whether I should get the second booster now or wait." — Margaret from Indiana You qualify for getting the second booster now, but I would hold off. You are already well-protected from severe illness due to the initial vaccine and the first booster. In addition, you just had covid-19. Because that infection was in January, it was almost certainly omicron. The chance of reinfection with the new omicron subvariant is very low. While it's unclear how long immunity from this infection will last, the combination of your already being vaccinated and boosted and having just recovered from omicron is such that I think you could safely wait. New data could emerge in the coming months that omicron-induced immunity is waning. Or a new variant might arise. Or infection rates could spike again. It might also be that the coronavirus vaccine becomes an annual vaccine, or at least something that requires another booster sometime this summer or fall. But I don't think you need to get your extra booster just yet. "Is it better to wait for a new covid-19 vaccine that will be more targeted to the new strain? I am in my 70s and immunocompromised. Already had two vaccines and one booster." — Ellen from New York You are in a different situation from the reader above. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised have two major risk factors: First, they might not produce as much of an immune response from the vaccines. Second, they are at an elevated risk for severe illness if they contract covid-19. Therefore, this group should receive the additional booster now. Your age is another risk factor. I would lean more toward your getting the booster shot by age alone. In combination with immunocompromise, I would not advise waiting. (Of course, speak with your physician about your specific medical situation.) There are omicron-specific boosters and vaccines that are being studied. Those data might take weeks to come out, and by the time authorization comes around, it could be months. For some people, it would be reasonable to wait. For you, with both age and immunocompromise, I'd be in favor of getting the fourth dose now. Then you can receive the variant-specific booster in the future if needed. "Should an obese person, mid-30s, pre-diabetic get the second booster shot? Is it allowed under the new guidelines? Person also suffers from mental illness and takes medicines for it." — Bob from New Jersey The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are not allowing for people under 50 to receive a second booster dose, unless they are moderately or severely immunocompromised (which this person is not). Given this person's age, they are not eligible for the booster at this time. You mentioned obesity, pre-diabetes and mental illness. All of these could predispose to more severe outcomes. I encourage this person to find out from their physician what exactly their risk is based on their specific medical situation. Now is the time to optimize other elements of their health, including, in this case, to prevent pre-diabetes from progressing to diabetes. The Post has also compiled Q&As from my previous newsletters. You can read them here. | 
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