The conversation was further complicated by updated vaccine guidance issued by the FDA and CDC in May, which recommended that only high-risk groups receive annual COVID boosters, revising the previous guidance that all Americans over the age of 6 months receive the shot each year. While the new recommendation makes a certain degree of sense, some physicians have noted that it introduces new questions for patients, doctors, and pharmacists that federal officials have yet to answer. Vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit outlined several such questions recently, including this one:

“I am a pharmacist who gives dozens of Covid-19 vaccines every day. Am I supposed to determine whether someone is in a high-risk group before I give the vaccine? And how could I possibly know whether people are telling the truth. Will I get into trouble if I give a Covid vaccine to a healthy young person?”

To help cut through the confusion, emergency medicine physician Dr. Liza Lockwood answers the most common questions about COVID-19 vaccines: how do they work, and why do they only protect against severe disease and death—as opposed to preventing infection and transmission? Are the new guidelines from FDA/CDC justifiable?

Join Dr. Liza Dunn and Cam English on this episode of Facts and Fallacies as they discuss they break down the latest science around COVID vaccination:

Dr. Liza Lockwood is a medical toxicologist and the medical affairs lead at Bayer Crop Science. Follow her on X @DrLizaMD

Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. Follow him on X @camjenglish