{"id":16396,"date":"2021-03-26T19:08:07","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T19:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/03\/26\/veterans-families-may-need-to-get-covid-vaccine-boosters-later-this-year\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:28:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:28:35","slug":"veterans-families-may-need-to-get-covid-vaccine-boosters-later-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/26\/veterans-families-may-need-to-get-covid-vaccine-boosters-later-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterans, families may need to get COVID vaccine boosters later this year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Veterans Affairs officials<\/a> still have millions of coronavirus vaccine doses they hope to deliver in coming months, but they\u2019re already looking ahead to the possibility of booster shots for vaccinated veterans<\/a> this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s because VA medical experts \u2014 along with other health professionals worldwide \u2014 are planning for the next potential wave of pandemic problems, as COVID-19 variants emerge and researchers develop a better understanding of how effective current vaccines can be against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, it appears that we\u2019ll be able to publish in the next few weeks the evidence that between seven and nine months we can feel comfortable that [vaccinated] individuals are still protected,\u201d acting VA Under Secretary for Health Richard Stone told reporters at a department press conference Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe next question you ask is if this is an endemic disease \u2014 which hundreds of researchers and public health leaders believe, and I am one of those \u2014 how do we reduce mortality and hospitalization because of it? Clearly, it\u2019s going to be the ability to deliver more immunizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t