You're at 'dramatically higher' risk of ending up in the ICU from COVID-19 if you haven't gotten your latest booster: COVID-19 experts

• Officials are encouraging Americans to get caught up on their COVID-19 booster shots as the Omicron BA.5 subvariant surges.
• Adults over 50 years old with only one booster are four times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those with two boosters, officials said.

As the latest COVID-19 subvariant Omicron BA.5 spreads across the country, health officials warned that Americans are at greater risk of becoming seriously ill if they aren't caught up on their COVID-19 booster shots.

"Your risk of ending up in the ICU is dramatically higher if you have not gotten a booster," Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

People over 50 with just one booster dose are also four times likelier to die from COVID-19 than those who have gotten two or more booster shots, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during the briefing.

Although officials said there is evidence that BA.5 is better at evading immunity, they said vaccines are still crucial in preventing people from getting seriously sick.

"We know that these vaccines are working well against severe infection, so much of the motivation to get these is to protect yourself against severe infection and death," Walensky said.

Everyone age 5 and older should get one booster shot after completing their first vaccine series, according to the CDC.

Adults 50 and older and people 12 and older who are at greater risk are caught up after they receive two booster shots, the CDC says.