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Do I need another booster? The CDC director answered your questions.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and Post reporters chatted with readers on the latest about the coronavirus

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Updated January 23, 2023 at 4:48 p.m. EST|Published January 20, 2023 at 3:58 p.m. EST
Three years since the U.S. saw its first coronavirus cases, testing and masks are still evident at transit hubs such as Los Angeles International Airport. (Jill Connelly/Bloomberg News)

With another covid winter upon us, a new variant, XBB.1.5, is dominating the latest coronavirus surge in the United States. Although hospitalizations have started to decline, public health experts warn the country still faces elevated levels of the coronavirus and other respiratory viruses.

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Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, answered reader questions about the coronavirus with Washington Post health reporters Sabrina Malhi and Fenit Nirappil on Monday.

Read the answers to your questions below. Please note that some questions were edited for accuracy and clarity. For more information on the newest vaccines, our reporters created a detailed guide on bivalent boosters inspired by the discussion.

Sign up for Sabrina Malhi’s coronavirus newsletter, delivered to your inbox twice a week

Looking for more? Read some our recent coronavirus coverage:

Alexandra Pannoni, newsroom talent and community editor, produced this Q&A.

Coronavirus: What you need to know

Where do things stand? See the latest covid numbers in the U.S. and across the world. In the U.S., pandemic trends have shifted and now White people are more likely to die from covid than Black people.

The state of public health: Conservative and libertarian forces have defanged much of the nation’s public health system through legislation and litigation as the world staggers into the fourth year of covid.

Grief and the pandemic: A Washington Post reporter covered the coronavirus — and then endured the death of her mother from covid-19. She offers a window into grief and resilience.

Would we shut down again? What will the United States do the next time a deadly virus comes knocking on the door?

Vaccines: The CDC recommends that everyone age 5 and older get an updated covid booster shot. New federal data shows adults who received the updated shots cut their risk of being hospitalized with covid-19 by 50 percent. Here’s guidance on when you should get the omicron booster and how vaccine efficacy could be affected by your prior infections.

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