Your common COVID-19 questions, answered

Q. Can I get a second booster shot?

A. Yes, if you’re immunocompromised or over the age of 50 and you received your last booster on or before Nov. 30, you can get boosted.

Q. I don’t fall into those categories. Should I try anyway?

A. It’s an individual decision, says David Dowdy, an epidemiologist with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “The benefits outweigh the risk, on average,” he says. That said, if you’re healthy, vaccinated, and boosted already, your odds of getting a severe illness from COVID-19 are pretty low as it is.

Q. What about children under the age of 5?

A. A key FDA advisory committee meets next week to consider emergency use authorization for shots for young children. Here’s how jurisdictions all around D.C. are preparing.

Q. Do I need to get my children vaccinated before school next year?

A. Yes, all students who go to schools in D.C. must be caught up on their routine vaccinations to attend school next year. Only students 16 and up, and student-athletes, are also required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend school.

Q. What about Novavax?

A. The latest COVID vaccine candidate, which does not use mRNA technology, was recommended by a key FDA committee, and now the FDA is weighing whether to authorize it. Stay tuned.