The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated COVID vaccine guidance for all ages. The agency also loosened several of its recommendations for battling the virus. Health officials announced these changes on the heels of President Joe Biden declaring the coronavirus emergency’s end. He also told Americans about the $5 billion project to create the next generation of vaccines.
One of the CDC’s changes was to allow new COVID boosters for immunocompromised patients and older adults. According to Otto Yang, MD, a UCLA professor of Medicine, the new vaccine was introduced last fall. It is a bivalent booster, “basically a 50-50 mix of the omicron variants and the original strain.” The doctor noted the omicron variant has about 50 mutations.
A Boston Children’s Hospital pediatrician, Dr. Ofer Levy, warned, “We don’t want to let our guard down and normalize the situation. And on the other hand, we can’t be in an emergency footing forever.” He asked, “So, how do we find that right balance?”
The Smithsonian Magazine authors explain that balancing has challenged health officials since the Sars-CoV-19 pandemic invaded the United States.
“On one hand,” they write, “the COVID-19 vaccine was developed in less than a year.” Moreover, more than 230 million Americans were fully inoculated during “the fastest, most extensive vaccine rollout in history.”
CDC epidemiologist Greta Massetti told reporters, “The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years. As a result, only 40,000 COVID patients are hospitalized compared to hundreds of thousands reported in 2021. Additionally, an average of 500 patients die daily rather than thousands.
Despite the coronavirus being the nation’s third-leading cause of death in 2022, health officials say it could be one of the top 10 causes of death this year, with new variants emerging and previous vaccinations’ effectiveness receding. One of the current variants, XBB, represented more than 95% of cases in the United States as of April 1, 2023.
Age-Specific COVID Booster Details
According to CDC officials, everyone ages six and older should get one updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to be up-to-date.
Additionally, adults 65 and older are eligible for a 2nd dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine if their last one was at least four months earlier.
Moreover, moderately or severely immunocompromised individuals can now be boosted as often as every two months.
Finally, the CDC warns that children between the ages of six months to five years “may need several doses of the COVID vaccine, including at least one updated vaccine, depending on how many doses they have previously received and their age.”
U.S. health officials are currently developing a newer coronavirus vaccine they plan to release when flu season begins. The CDC reports the reformulated shot will have the original COVID strain and the omicron offshoot XBB.1.5. Notably, as the XBB.1.5 continues to decline, two other XBB variants are accelerating. Health officials predict that the XBB.1.6 will be the dominant variant by the fall.
Written by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
Smithsonian Magazine: When Should I Get Another Covid Booster? By Cameron Sabet and Simar Bajaj
The Washington Post: A new, sensible plan for fall covid boosters is taking shape; by Leana S. Wen
The Washington Post: CDC loosens coronavirus guidance, signaling strategic shift; by Lena H. Sun and Joel Achenbach
UCLA Health: New COVID-19 booster authorized for people 65 and older; by Sandy Cohen
Featured and Top Image by Hakan Nural Courtesy of Unsplash
First Inset Image by National Cancer Institute Courtesy of Unsplash
Second Inset Image by Mufid Majnun Courtesy of Unsplash
