No matter where COVID-19 takes us, don’t let it put you in the hospital. If you’re boosted, which means a third dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or an additional dose after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you’re unlikely to require hospitalization if infected.
“The booster’s reduction in severe hospitalizations — that’s all you really need to know about it,” says Dr. Ulysses Wu, Hartford HealthCare’s System Director of Infection Disease and Chief Epidemiologist. “I’m going to be binary. Booster, good. Not boosted, bad.”
How good, or bad, is it in Connecticut? Here’s a breakdown, by age group, of total number of people who have received a booster and then by percentage of the age group, based on data from the state Health Department. Then see where Connecticut stands among the nation’s most-boosted states.
People in Connecticut Who Have Received a COVID Booster, By Age Group
Percent in Connecticut Who Have Received a COVID Booster, By Age Group
Connecticut, with 48.5 percent of its eligible population boosted based on Feb. 14 CDC data, is tied with Massachusetts and Illinois as the 12th most-boosted state.
The 15 Most-Boosted States
1. Vermont: 57.9 percent.
2. Minnesota: 55.2 percent.
3. Wisconsin: 53.7 percent.
4. Maine: 52.9 percent.
5. Iowa: 51.0 percent.
6. Rhode Island: 50.6 percent.
7. Oregon: 50.3 percent.
8. Michigan: 50.1 percent.
9. Ohio: 49.8 percent.
10. Colorado: 49.2 percent.
11. Washington: 49.0 percent.
12. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois: 48.5 percent.
15. Hawaii: 48.4 percent.
The CDC continues to recommend COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone 5 or older. Most people should get a booster five months after receiving the second dose of an mRNA vaccine or two months after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. About 91 million Americans have received boostes, according to the CDC, though most who are eligible have not.
Depending on the next COVID-19 variant, a fourth-dose booster could be based on age and existing medical conditions.