Few people are getting the updated Covid booster shots — and that has public health officials worried

Fall is here, and with it will come colder weather and people hanging out indoors — and thus the spread of infectious diseases, including Covid.

That’s why public health officials want people to hurry up and get their updated Covid booster shots, a vaccine that’s tailored to target the omicron variant and its subvariants as well as the original virus. But so far, not many people have gotten this new Covid shot.

In King County, only about 10 percent of people who are eligible have gotten an updated booster shot. The numbers are even lower statewide. And communities of color and people who live in South King County are also less likely to have gotten an updated booster.

People aren’t getting booster shots in part because appointments were initially hard to come by — but King County’s public health agency says the state is now getting a steady supply of booster shots from the federal government, so appointments should be easier to find.

Also, some people are tired of taking measures to prevent or mitigate Covid.

And finally, there’s been some confusion about whether the updated boosters are available, whether and why it’s important to get one and where to find an appointment.

All that has public health officials worried. They say last year’s boosters dramatically reduced Covid hospitalizations and deaths, and that that omicron-specific boosters — though not the ones currently available — have been shown to increase people’s antibodies to omicron variants, other Covid variants, and the original virus.

(Like the annual flu shot, the updated boosters were tested only on animals, in order to get out a vaccine that best matches the viral strains that are currently circulating as soon as possible.)

Modeling suggests that if people get booster shots at the same rate as they got flu shots last winter, that would save lives, reduce hospitalizations, and leave room in the hospitals for people with flu or RSV or who need health care for any reason.

Everyone over the age of 12 who didn’t just have Covid or their last Covid booster shot is eligible for the updated booster, and people over the age of 5 are expected to be eligible soon. The best clearinghouse for available appointments is the state vaccine locator website.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that the updated omicron boosters that are currently available were not tested on humans, only animals.