The CDC is recommending the vaccine for anyone over the age of six months.
TAMPA, Fla. The leading manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccine say they are already shipping the latest formulation of the shots to hospitals, doctors' offices and pharmacies around the nation.
The FDA approved the new vaccines last week, just as the Tampa Bay area is seeing a summer surge in the virus.
The CDC is recommending the vaccine for anyone over the age of six months.
It may be challenging to find anyone who doesn't know someone who's gotten COVID again this summer.
You know, people get sick. But it seems like there's more people all at once being sick, said Ma Dowling, whos noticed several absences at his Tampa office.
Me, personally, I know of two people, said Rebecca Torres who works in Tampa as well. But I'm starting to hear more people saying be careful because it's coming back around again.
Megan Kramer says she caught COVID-19 over the summer, along with her family.
Yeah, no, It's back. Everybody has it, Kramer said. I took a whole week off because my whole family got it. When we went on a trip.
Wastewater samples show high concentrations of the virus. Hospitals ERs are also reportedly busier than they've been in some time.
Those indicators have been going up for months. And they are peeking right now at levels that we haven't seen since 2020, said USF Healths Dr. Jill Roberts. Bottom line is absolutely go and get it.
Dr. Roberts says the newest COVID vaccines have been formulated to protect against the latest, most prevalent variants.
If you think you already have immunity Dr. Roberts says think again.
Yes, unfortunately, that immunity wanes. And so, somewhere between three and six months people don't have the protection anymore, whether you've been infected or whether you've actually been vaccinated, said Dr. Roberts. And the main reason for that is that these strains change.
While Roberts recommends everyone gets the shot after consulting with their own physician its crucial, she says, for those over 65 years old, immune deficient or living with comorbidities.
Those are the highest risk. And they should definitely be vaccinated, said Dr. Roberts. But I don't want to discount anybody. Anybody can get this shot. They should go ahead and do so.
Roberts says those who have recently gotten a booster should still consider getting the new shot, and its the same for those who recently had COVID-19 and acquired some natural immunity.
However, its probably okay to wait until the fall and get the new vaccine around the same time you would get your flu vaccination, she explains.
The first of these new vaccines are being produced with mRNA technology, and Dr. Roberts acknowledged there are those who are worried about the mRNA shot. For them, she said, The Novavax, which is the protein shot, is coming out right behind this one. So, I would expect that one to actually get approved soon and be available as well.
The Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid-19 vaccines on Thursday, paving the way for the shots to soon land in pharmacies, doctors offices and health centers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said it will recommend that adults and children six months and older get updated vaccines. Heres what to know.
The F.D.A. approved one vaccine from Pfizer and one from Moderna. Representatives from the drug companies said that their shots were ready to ship immediately after approval.
Both vaccines target KP.2, a strain of the coronavirus that started to spread widely this spring. The variants that are most prevalent in the United States right now are very similar to KP.2, and so the vaccines should protect against them.
When the match is very good, as we anticipate it would be with the current circulating strains, you get actual protection from infection for several months, said Dr. Paul Sax, the clinical director of the division of infectious diseases at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston.
The vaccine that rolled out last fall, by contrast, was geared at an older variant that has since petered out.
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Amid an ongoing surge, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved updated COVID-19 vaccines for the 2024-2025 respiratory disease season.
The new shots, made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, are largely the same as the original mRNA vaccines developed at the start of the pandemicbut they target KP.2, a different strain of the virus that has been causing many of the rising number of cases this summer. The FDA initially recommended in early June that vaccine makers target the JN.1 lineageof which KP.2 is a partbut changing patterns in which variants are causing disease led the agency to update its advice in August, asking manufacturers to focus on KP.2.
KP.3 variants currently account for nearly half of COVID-19 infections in the U.S., and KP.2 variants cause about 14.4% of cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new vaccines are targeting KP.2 because the virus continues to mutate more quickly than manufacturers can follow them with a perfectly matched vaccineand that's even with the mRNA technology, which allows scientists to produce vaccines against a new target in just six to eight weeks. Testing that shot, and scaling up manufacturing, takes a few more months.
The good news, however, is that all of the JN and KP variants are related and belong to a group known as FLiRT, an acronym that encompasses the mutations these variants developed. They all have different names because they each developed similar mutations independently. That means that a vaccine targeting one will likely still be effective against others in the group, although at varying levels. A Moderna spokesperson says its updated KP.2 vaccine generated stronger immune responses against JN.1 variants, including KP.2 and KP.3, compared to its previous XBB vaccine. A Pfizer spokesperson says its tests showed similarly stronger immune responses with its updated KP.2 vaccine against JN.1 offshoots, including KP.3 and LB.1, compared to its XBB shot.
Read More: Should You Work Out If Your Muscles Are Sore?
The bad news is that the FLiRT mutations make it difficult for antibodies that the body generateseither from exposure to the vaccine through an infection or a vaccineto neutralize the virus. But these changes also make it harder for the virus to attach to and infect cells. But overall, the ability of FLiRT variants to evade antibody defenses have allowed them to spread more quickly among people, although they don't seem to cause more serious disease in most people.
The FDA approved both vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for people 12 years and older. For children ages six months to 11 years, the agency issued an emergency use authorization, which allows manufacturers to distribute the vaccine while additional data on safety and side effects in that age group continue to be collected. People over age 65 continue to be at the highest risk of being hospitalized for complications related to COVID-19nearly 18 times the rate of younger people, according to the CDC.
Both companies say they expect doses of their vaccines to be available at pharmacies and doctors' offices in the coming weeks. Walgreens says its first appointments for COVID-19 vaccines will be on September 6. In order to help more doctor's offices stock the vaccines and encourage greater uptake, a Pfizer spokesperson says its vaccine will have a longer shelf life than its past vaccines and come in smaller, pre-filled syringe packs of 10 to reduce waste.
COVID-19 antigen home tests show a positive result. Americans will be able to order four free COVID-19 tests at the end of September that will be delivered to their mailbox. Patrick Sison/AP hide caption
The Biden administration is bringing back free at-home COVID-19 tests by mail.
At the end of September, each household will be able to order up to four rapid tests through COVIDtests.gov.
The tests, which will detect newer COVID-19 variants, will be good for use until the end of the year.
The mailed tests are returning after the Food and Drug Administrationthis week approved two updated COVID-19 vaccines to provide protection against current strains of the virus. Those vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are expected to be rolled out within days for anyone age 6 months and older.
Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 infection, and testing is key to help limit the spread of the virus, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
When using these rapid antigen tests, a positive test result means you very likely have COVID-19.
If you test negative and are experiencing symptoms, the FDA recommends a second testperformed 48 hours after the first. It recommends three tests for people who have been exposed but don't have symptoms, also 48 hours apart.
The prevention measures are being offered as an unexpected summer wave of COVID-19 hits the U.S.
If you still have unused COVID tests, they may still be current. You can check this FDA website to see if the expiration date has been extended.
FILE - Pre-loaded syringes of the COVID-19 vaccine are ready for use in New Orleans on Jan. 25, 2022.
Ted Jackson / AP
U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, shots designed to more closely target recent virus strains and hopefully whatever variants cause trouble this winter, too.
With the Food and Drug Administrations clearance, Pfizer and Moderna are set to begin shipping millions of doses. A third U.S. manufacturer, Novavax, expects its modified vaccine version to be available a little later.
We strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants, said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks.
The Oregon Health Authority expects doses of the new boosters will begin arriving in the state within one to three weeks. But unlike during the height of the pandemic, the agency is no longer responsible for distributing the doses throughout Oregon.
The FDA decision came a bit earlier than last years rollout of updated COVID-19 vaccines, as a summer wave of the virus continues in most of the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already has recommended this falls shot for everyone age 6 months and older. Vaccinations could be available within days.
While most Americans have some degree of immunity from prior infections or vaccinations or both, that protection wanes. Last falls shots targeted a different part of the coronavirus family tree, a strain thats no longer circulating and CDC data shows only about 22.5% of adults and 14% of children received it.
Health officials in Oregon said a rise in cases of the virus over the last three months appears to be plateauing. But testing across the state has also gone down significantly, compared to previous years.
Related: Oregon health officials suggest precautions as COVID-19 infections remain high
Skipping the new shot is a hazardous way to go, because even if your last infection was mild, your next might be worse or leave you with long COVID symptoms, said Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr. of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
This falls vaccine recipe is tailored to a newer branch of omicron descendants. The Pfizer and Moderna shots target a subtype called KP.2 that was common earlier this year. While additional offshoots, particularly KP.3.1.1, now are spreading, theyre closely enough related that the vaccines promise cross-protection. A Pfizer spokesman said the company submitted data to FDA showing its updated vaccine generates a substantially improved response against multiple virus subtypes compared to last falls vaccine.
The big question: How soon to get vaccinated? This summers wave of COVID-19 isnt over but the inevitable winter surges tend to be worse. And while COVID-19 vaccines do a good job preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death, protection against mild infection lasts only a few months.
People who are at high risk from the virus shouldnt wait but instead schedule vaccinations once shots are available in their area, Hopkins advised.
That includes older adults, people with weak immune systems or other serious medical problems, nursing home residents and pregnant women.
Healthy younger adults and children can get vaccinated anytime. I dont think theres a real reason to wait, Hopkins said although its OK to seek the shots in the fall, when plenty of doses will have arrived at pharmacies and doctors offices.
The exception: The CDC says anyone who recently had COVID-19 can wait three months after they recover before getting vaccinated, until immunity from that infection begins to wane.
Hopkins, who sees patients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, calls it vital for more youngsters to get vaccinated this year especially with schools starting as coronavirus levels are high around the country.
COVID does not kill many children, thank goodness, but it kills far more children than influenza does, Hopkins said, adding that teachers, too, should quickly get up to date with the vaccine.
Health authorities say its fine to get a COVID-19 and flu vaccination at the same time, a convenience so people dont have to make two trips. But while many drugstores already are advertising flu shots, the prime time for that vaccination tends to be late September through October, just before flu typically starts its cold weather climb.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
On Thursday, a new Covid-19 vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and Americans should be able to access the new shots in the next few days.
The vaccines come amid one of the worst Covid waves of the last two years. And while dangerous outcomes like hospitalization and death are nowhere near what they were at the height of the pandemic, both are still a risk, especially for older people and those with other risk factors like asthma or obesity.
This updated version of the vaccine does not target the now-dominant KP.3.1.1 strain, and instead focuses on that variants immediate predecessors, including a strain known as KP.2. That strain was more prevalent when work began on the new formulation; long development times make it difficult for drug makers to pivot to target each new variant.
Evolution doesnt stop and let us catch up, Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Vox. Evolution is always moving, and theres some unpredictability of where the virus may go.
Still, scientists believe the new drug will provide the public with at least some increased measure of protection against severe sickness, including against the latest variants. And it could offer some protection against infection since it targets the close relatives of the current dominant variant.
As of now, two new vaccines have been approved: one from Pfizer/BioNTech and one from Moderna. An update from Novavax is still awaiting approval.
Doses should be available within the week at doctors offices, as well as CVS and Walgreens pharmacies throughout the country; Walgreens will start offering appointments on September 6. However, the government is no longer buying and distributing the vaccine, so its no longer available for free. Insurance carriers should cover most, if not all, of the cost of vaccination, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has an overview of what costs those paying out of pocket might expect.
The CDC recommends that everyone age 6 months and up get one dose of the new vaccine, regardless of their previous vaccination status, and has stressed the importance of high-risk individuals keeping up with the latest vaccines. Other countries like Canada and the UK recommend that only those with high risk of hospitalization, serious illness, or death from the virus get inoculated.
Adalja said high-risk individuals should heed the CDCs advice: Ive always been someone who wanted to make sure that the high-risk population really understood that these vaccines were going to disproportionately benefit them, he told Vox.
The more high-risk factors you have like advanced age, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, having a compromised immune system, pregnancy, asthma, and having never been vaccinated or had Covid the more important it is to get two doses. All of those types of people, they clearly should be the ones that are running to get this vaccine, Adalja said.
Though high-risk people should have first priority for the updated vaccines, that doesnt mean that healthy people with none of those risk factors wont benefit from getting vaccinated; if you want to avoid infection, this version is likely going to be better at preventing transmission than previous versions have been. However, even with the updated vaccine, its a good idea to take other precautions, like masking in public places.
Covid-19 is now endemic part of our everyday lives like the flu and cold viruses are. And it will keep evolving to evade the bodys defenses, necessitating new vaccine formulations. That means more new vaccine formulations are on the way, and that once they are approved, vaccination will still be the best way to protect yourself from the worst possible outcomes.
Update, August 23, 4 pm ET: This piece, originally published earlier on August 23, has been updated to clarify the CDCs current recommendations about who should receive new vaccines.
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The University of Kentucky Public Relations and Strategic Communications Office provides a weekly health column available for use and reprint by news media. This weeks column isby Takaaki Kobayashi, M.D., senior medical director for UK HealthCareInfection Prevention and Control.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 26, 2024) Recent headlines swirling about an uptick in local COVID-19 cases might bring back bad memories.
According to a careful monitoring of hospital admissions, COVID-19 activity has picked up in recent weeks in Kentucky. Theres no need to panic, but it may be time for a quick refresher.
Our understanding of COVID-19, the preventative measures we can take against it and the effective treatment options available to those who get the disease have only increased with time.
Newest vaccine imminent
Like other viruses, the virus behind COVID has continued to evolve and the dominant strains infecting many Americans today are of Omicron lineage. The newest vaccine, developed to specially target the new dominant variants, should start to roll out in late August and September.
Its recommended that everyone six months of age or older get the shot. Protection against COVID-19 from previous vaccines or previous bouts with COVID-19 decrease over time.
Gettingthe vaccinedoesnt guarantee you wont become ill. However, the chances of being hospitalized or dying from the disease decreases significantly.
Consider also getting your flu shot at the same time as your COVID-19 vaccine. Flu season is right around the corner. Older adults and pregnant people might also consider getting a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine.
Other recommendations
A COVID summer surge was expected, but the severity is still to be determined. With school starting, its important that parents and students remember proper hand-washing techniques and to stay home if youre feeling sick. Additionally, wearing a mask can help lower the risk of virus transmission by reducing the spread of the virus from infected individuals and protecting wearers from inhaling infectious particles from others.
Those precautions will help protect against COVID-19 plus other respiratory viruses that tend to kick around crowded environments like classrooms.
As of March, theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention recommendsthat those suffering from respiratory virus symptoms cough, runny nose, sore throat, headache, etc. stay home and away from others. You can resume normal activities once symptoms have improved, and youre fever free for at least 24 hours.
Its important to note that you may still spread the virus that made you sick, even if youre feeling better. Over the next fivedays, take extra precautions such as improving air circulation, practicing good hygiene, wearing masks, and keeping a safe distance from others.
Other common questions about COVID
Is Paxlovid still effective against the newer strains of COVID?
Paxlovid remains effective against the new COVID variants. It is only recommended for people at high risk for severe illness and only within 5 days of symptom onset.
How severe is illness with the new variant?
The current variants are more contagious than earlier strains, but they dont seem to cause more severe illness.
If I already had COVID-19 and recovered, do I still need to get a COVID-19 vaccine?
Yes. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine after you recover provides added protection.
On the heels of a summer wave of COVID-19 cases, Americans will be able to get free virus test kits mailed to their homes, starting in late September.
U.S. households will be able to order up to four COVID-19 nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according to the website, COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Health and Human Services agency that oversees the testing has not announced an exact date for ordering to begin.
The tests will detect current virus strains and can be ordered ahead of the holiday season when family and friends gather for celebrations, an HHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Over-the-counter COVID-19 at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year.
The announcement also comes as the government is once again urging people to get an updated COVID-19 booster, ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season. Earlier this week, U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to combat the recent virus strains and, hopefully, forthcoming winter ones, too. Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but data shows under a quarter of U.S. adults took last falls COVID-19 shot.
The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, including half distributed to households by mail. Its unclear how many tests the feds have on hand.
Tens of billions of tax-payer dollars have been used to develop COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments. Although deaths and serious infections have dropped dramatically since COVID-19 started its U.S. spread in 2020, hospitalizations have started to slightly creep up in recent weeks. In total, more than 1 million Americans have died from the virus.
More on COVID-19:
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The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it has greenlighted updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for the 2024 fall season. The decision clears the way for distribution to begin for the latest version of the shots earlier this year than last year.
Moderna and Pfizer's shots were revised this year to target the KP.2 variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as part of a now-annual process undertaken by the FDA and health authorities around the world to update the vaccines to protect against newer strains of the virus.
"Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants," said Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Similar to previous seasons, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that all Americans ages 6 months and older get a shot of the "updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine" to protect against another expected surge of the virus this fall and winter.
In a presentation to the American Medical Association earlier this month, CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen recommended starting to administer COVID-19 shots this year as soon they are available.
"Then the administration should continue through September, October, November, those are the months you really want to be paying attention to," she said.
Both Moderna and Pfizer say they expect the first shots from their vaccines to become available in the coming days around the country. Another updated vaccine from Novavax is also expected to get the FDA's authorization this year.
"FDA has committed to moving swiftly on regulatory authorization. We expect to have authorization in time for peak vaccination season," Novavax said in a statement.
Since this past winter, health authorities have been working to accelerate this year's rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
Last year's late-September rollout of the shots led to a number of fumbles that likely depressed vaccination rates, CDC officials said in February, like confusing messaging and struggles for patients to access the shots.
Instead, COVID-19 vaccines this year will become available around the same time that deliveries of flu shots are arriving in clinics. That is the result of an earlier CDC vote to recommend the shots over the summer and an earlier FDA selection of the strain to be targeted by the shots, moving it closer to the annual process to update the seasonal flu vaccine.
For most people, the CDC recommends getting a flu shot in September or October each year, which can be given at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccines.
"If you have someone in front of you, and the option is, this is my chance to give them vaccines, co-administration is a best practice. So we encourage it," the CDC's Dr. Demetre Daskalakis said at the AMA event.
Health officials have long acknowledged that the rollout of this year's new COVID-19 vaccines would likely arrive too late for many Americans infected by this summer's wave of the virus.
"It's very difficult to try to time COVID vaccine before an oncoming surge. And so I think what we're left with is trying to time it with the respiratory virus season, and think about uptake at the same time as folks are getting their flu vaccines," the CDC's Dr. Ruth Link-Gelles told a panel of the FDA's advisers in June.
The new shots from Moderna and Pfizer target the KP.2 variant, which is a descendant of the JN.1 strain that drove part of last winter's surge of infections.
This decision to target KP.2 is different from what the World Health Organization and some other countries had recommended, calling for shots aimed at the JN.1 variant.
Pfizer and Moderna presented early data on shots targeted at KP.2 as well as JN.1 to a panel of the FDA's outside vaccine advisers in June, as the companies prepared to ramp up production.
While the FDA's advisers called for the agency to target JN.1, the agency cited the "recent rise in" cases to reject the committee's advice and aim the shots at KP.2 instead in order to "more closely match" the latest strains.
But KP.2 has been declining as a share of infections for months. Another strain called KP.3.1.1 has rapidly grown amid this summer's wave. More than a third of cases are now from KP.3.1.1, the CDC estimates.
While the difference between the strains might have some impact on how effective the shots are this fall and winter, scientists have said the gap between these different variants is still relatively small compared to previous jumps in the virus.
"All of these viruses that are circulating currently, even though they have very different names are very, very similar to each other. So it is just a nomenclature issue, why you have these different sounding names," the CDC's Natalie Thornburg said Monday, in a call with testing labs.
Alexander Tin is a digital reporter for CBS News based in the Washington, D.C. bureau. He covers the Biden administration's public health agencies, including the federal response to infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19.
COVID hasnt taken the summer off, and with the usual winter surge looming, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved new vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
A third shot, from Novavax, has yet to be approved, but health officials are suggesting people get this shot (which is no longer called a booster) as the number of people testing positive continues to rise and hospitalizations are increasing as well.
Heres all you need to know about this years COVID vaccine.
The new shots will likely be available in the coming days, officials say. Thats earlier than last year, when they didnt hit pharmacies and doctors offices until September.
As with each years flu shot, thats unclear at this point. The new shots target the KP.2 strain, a mutation of the variant that spread widely last winter. KP.2 is fading, though, as other related strains gain momentum. The KP.3.1.1 strain currently accounts for 36% of new COVID cases, while KP.3 accounts for 17%.
Experts, though, say getting the shot will protect against severe illness, even if you do contract the virus.
Last year, only 22.5% of Americans got the updated COVID vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is hoping for higher numbers this year, urging everyone six months and older to get the shot, but are making a more urgent appeal to people over 65 or with health conditions, such as a weakened immune system or obesity.
A lot of that depends on your situation. If youre at high risk or elderly, the CDC suggests getting the shot as soon as possible. If youve been caught up in the summer COVID wave, you can consider delaying getting the shot for up to three months, as you likely have some natural immunity.
For people who are young and healthy, there are two ways of looking at the timing. The new vaccines are matched to the current wave, meaning youll likely see a bigger benefit for whats out there right now. Waiting until later in the fall, in the September or October time frame, could give you the most protection through the winter months, though.
Yes. Its safe to get both shots at the same time, health officials say.
