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Question: I am confused about the new booster shots. Are these mainly for people who didn’t already get their second booster?
Answer: No, and they’re not just for people 50 and older, either, to answer another reader’s question. The new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are for people 12 and older who completed their primary COVID-19 vaccine series at least two months ago or who received a monovalent booster dose at least two months ago; it doesn’t matter whether it was a first or second booster, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One dose of the new bivalent booster is recommended.
The agency says the bivalent booster shots, which it also describes as “updated boosters,” can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and provide broader protection against the most recent omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5.
In March the CDC had approved a second booster shot for people 50 and up, but that was the monovalent version that is no longer used for people 12 and up.
The agency has posted an easy-to-use tool at 808ne.ws/cdctool to tell people whether they are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccination, when to get a booster shot and what type of booster to get (the monovalent booster remains in use for ages 5 to 11, at least five months after primary vaccination).
This online tool considers the person’s age, whether they are immunocompromised and their previous COVID-19 vaccinations. However, it doesn’t ask whether they’ve recently had COVID-19, as many readers have this summer. Elsewhere on the website, the CDC says people might consider delaying their next vaccine dose for three months from when their symptoms began or they first received a positive test. “Reinfection is less likely in the weeks to months after infection. However, certain factors, such as personal risk of severe disease, local COVID-19 community level, and the most common COVID-19 variant currently causing illness, could be reasons to get a vaccine sooner rather than later,” it says.
Check hawaiicovid19.com/vaccine to locate a vaccination site in Hawaii.
Q: How long is an eye-test form from an ophthalmologist good for at the DMV? I was assuming six months, since you can renew your driver’s license six months prior to expiration.
A: Yes, the vision certificate must be from an eye exam that occurred within six months of your driver’s license application or renewal, according to Honolulu County’s Department of Customer Services.
Applicants may submit this written proof, obtained from a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist, rather than taking the vision test at the DMV.
Q: What are the tax guidelines on the amount of monetary gifting to children during calendar year?
A: The gift tax exclusion is $16,000 per recipient in 2022, meaning that you could give each of your children (or another person) up to that amount without owing gift tax, according to the Internal Revenue Service; the cap is $1,000 higher than 2021. When a gift tax is owed, it is generally paid by the giver. There are other exclusions, such as for tuition or medical expenses you pay for someone else, which are not subject to the cap. Read more at 808ne.ws/gifttax.
Auwe
First no toilet paper in the parks and now not enough paper for the rebate checks! The supply chain problem is in the government. They need to start acting like a private business and be more resourceful! — A reader
Mahalo
I would like to thank the person who found my iPhone outside of Walmart in Mililani on the night of Aug. 27. You saved me a lot of headaches with your honesty. This just shows the aloha spirit is alive and well. People are very caring and kind. Big mahalo. — Grateful senior
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.