Covid precautions to take if you don't qualify for current booster shot yet

FOX 2 - Covid precautions to take if you don't qualify for the current booster shot yet

Since March, people who are 50 and older and anyone 12 and older with a weak immune system are those who have the green light for a second Covid booster.

"Many people are still not eligible for this second booster due to their age or their health conditions," said Dr. Asha Shajahan. "But we know omicron is still out there. People are still getting Covid, I’m seeing plenty of patients here in the office that are coming in here with Covid."

As Covid cases increase and sub-variants become even more contagious what should people do if they are looking for additional protection but don’t qualify for the second booster?

"We have to stick to the basics," said the doctor, family medicine physician for Beaumont Grosse Pointe.

The Biden administration is working to decide whether to make a second COVID-19 booster shot more widely available.

But as the potency of the initial vaccine wane, medical professionals at Beaumont Health make it clear that people should not let their guard down.

"Especially if you’re traveling take a mask with you keep it on hand in case you end up in a crowded space," she said.

That means indoors and outside and if you are still planning that summer vacation, testing is key.

"Take a Covid test with you, the antigen test, if you can pack it along, because sometimes you don’t know when you can get a test," Shajahan said. "And when you start having symptoms you might want to test yourself.

"If you are going abroad I would say make sure you know where the PCR test is ahead of time."

And don’t forget to keep your hands clean to cut down on infection.

"Keep that hand sanitizer on hand," she said. "At the beginning of the pandemic it was a hot commodity and now I think people forgot about it, so keep it on hand."

But working to avoid Covid doesn’t end there.

"Get enough sleep, exercise if you can, eat proper foods and vitamins," she said.

For people who are not eligible for the second booster doctors say there are other vaccines  to boost your immune system.

"I have been telling my patients when the flu shot come out make sure you get that in addition to any booster that may be available."

Dr. Asha Shajahan, Beaumont Grosse Pointe.