Americans will be able to received new shots from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech once they hit the market, just as the U.S approaches the fall and winter respiratory virus season.
The vaccine protects against current variants
Like all the other COVID-19 vaccines, the updated version is not designed to prevent infection completely but is meant to reduce the severity of symptoms and curb the risk of “long COVID.”
This vaccine was designed to target the XBB.1.5 variant, which was dominant when they began to make the vaccine. This variant is not longer dominant but officials say the vaccine should still be effective at preventing severe infections against other variants.
The shots will be available at major pharmacies
Both CVS and Walgreens will have vaccines available in the coming days, following the CDC endorsement.
“Eligible individuals can schedule appointments immediately following CDC recommendation, with available appointments starting nationwide on Monday, September 18,” Walgreens’s Chief Medical Officer Kevin Ban said in a statement, adding that “earlier appointments may be added on a rolling basis as stores receive vaccines this week.”
A spokeswoman for CVS said doses should be arriving this week.
The demand is unclear
More than 95 percent of the U.S. population already has some level of COVID immunity, whether it’s from vaccination, infection or both.
However, vaccines are most effective in people who are older and with weaker immune systems because of underlying conditions. According to a CDC presentation Tuesday, most people who had been hospitalized since January 2023 did not receive a bivalent booster.
Some people may have to pay
This is the first time the federal government isn’t buying and distributing the shots, because the public health emergency expired in May. The COVID vaccine is now commercialized, just like the flu shot and other vaccines.
That puts the burden of ordering shots on hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies, and on the public for paying for it.
This is the first time the federal government isn’t buying and distributing the shots, because the public health emergency expired in May. The COVID vaccine is now commercialized, just like the flu shot and other vaccines.
That puts the burden of ordering shots on hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies, and on the public for paying for it.
Vaccines likely will be updated annually
The COVID-19 vaccine is being marketed as an annual shot, just like the flu vaccine.