Ask the Docs: Second boosters for adults over 50 and Omicron BA.2 in New England

Yesterday the FDA authorized an additional booster of either the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine for adults over 50 and folks who are immunocompromised.

The CDC has made the doses available but hasn't issued a blanket recommendation that everyone who is eligible should go get one. It's a break from the messaging up until now, which has always been "if there's a shot available to you, get it."

Meanwhile, COVID traces in wastewater and positive cases have ticked up a little in the Boston area, with the contagious omicron BA.2 variant now accounting for more than 72% of cases in the region. That, of course, raises the specter of another potential surge. Or does it?

Plus, families with kids under five years old still aren't able to get their littlest ones vaccinated.

We ask those questions and more on today's Ask the Docs with Dr. Cassandra Pierre and Dr. Sabrina Assoumou — infectious disease specialists at Boston Medical Center and assistant professors at Boston University School of Medicine.