Health chiefs today recommended the new variant-busting Covid booster for virtually every American.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging every adult and child over the age of six months to take the new vaccine, which has been designed to target newer versions of the Omicron variant.
The agency’s independent panel of experts voted 13-1 to recommend the shots Tuesday, with the agency’s director Dr Mandy Cohen saying the updated jabs would ‘better protect you and your loved ones’.
Health officials are hoping to top-up immunity levels nationwide ahead of the winter as Covid rates rise nationwide for the first time this year — though top experts expect it to be another mild wave.
The new jabs — designed to boost protection against newer variants — have been deemed safe for every American over the age of six months, just like earlier vaccinations
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, recommended the shots for virtually every American today.
The CDC’s director still needs to sign off on the recommendation but when she does the vaccines will be available in pharmacies within 48 hours.
Today’s recommendation means that the cost of the shots will be covered by public and private health insurance plans.
The recommendation comes a day after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said the shots were safe for use in everyone from the age of six months and over.
Announcing the expert committee’s recommendation, Dr Mandy Cohen said: ‘We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from Covid.
‘CDC is now recommending updated Covid vaccination for everyone six months and older to better protect you and your loved ones.’
The newest shots — made by Pfizer and Moderna — target an Omicron variant named XBB.1.5, which was dominant in the US over the summer months but has now largely dwindled.
Still, it’s close enough to coronavirus strains causing most Covid illnesses today that the FDA yesterday determined it would offer good cross-protection.
Early tests show that it is also effective in protecting against BA.2.86, which has triggered fears of a fresh Covid wave.
There are also promising signs it will work against the EG.5 Covid variant, which is currently dominant in the US.
Out of the 14 experts on ACIP, only one — Dr Pablo Sanchez, a pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio — voted against the move.
He told CNN: ‘I just want to be clear that I am not against this vaccine. The limited data that are available does look great.
‘[But] we have extremely limited data on children… and I think that needs to be made available… to parents.’
Other experts, however, said this would unnecessarily limit access to the updated Covid vaccine.
Dr Sandra Fryhofer, who represented the American Medical Association at the meeting, said: ‘There is no group that clearly has no risk from Covid.
‘And even children and adults with no underlying conditions can still experience severe illness due to Covid.’
The above graph shows the Covid hospitalization rate from January 2022 up to September 22. Hospitalizations have now risen for eight weeks in a row, although they are ticking up from historic lows
The above graph shows Covid deaths over 2022 and 2023. These have also started to rise in recent weeks
America is an international outlier in recommending Covid boosters for younger age groups, with other countries previously only offering them to older adults.
But Dr Grace Lee, a pediatrician who heads up the ACIP, said today’s recommendation was needed because of disparities in the US health system.
Other experts have also previously said that the lack of a public healthcare system leaves panels with little option but to make blanket recommendations.
The UK has already started rolling out the updated Covid booster this year, but it is only offering it to adults aged 65 years and older — saying they are the group most at risk of severe disease.
Last year, the CDC also recommended the Covid bivalent booster for everyone aged six months and over.
But other countries only cleared it for older age groups, with the UK giving it the green light for those aged 50 and over and Italy for those aged 60 and over.
There are signs, however, that health chiefs will struggle to get Americans to turn up for the new Covid booster vaccine this year, after uptake languished last year.
Overall, just 17 percent of eligible Americans came forward for the bivalent vaccine which protected against versions of Omicron.
Among over-65s — who are most at risk of severe disease — nearly six in ten failed to come forward to get the shot.
Some experts are already urging only older Americans to come forward to get the updated Covid booster, with Dr Paul Offit, who sits on the FDA’s vaccine advisory panel, telling DailyMail.com last week that adults under 75 years old who are healthy do not need to get the shot.
It comes as Covid metrics continue to rise in the US amid the emergence of new more transmissible variants.
Covid hospitalizations are up nearly nine percent in a week, reaching 18,871 admissions over the seven days to September 2.
Fatalities linked to the virus are also rising, having ticked up seven percent to 722 fatalities in the week to August 19, although this number could still rise.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Daily M
