The CDC recommends updated Covid-19 vaccine for everyone 6 months and older
The US Food and Drug Administration gave the green light Monday to updated COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech.
Both vaccine manufacturers have said testing shows that their vaccines are effective against EG.5, the currently dominant strain in the United States.
Now, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended everyone 6 months and older get the updated vaccine to help lower the risk of severe illness, hospitalization or death from the coronavirus.
CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen signed off on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, a panel of experts that advises the CDC on its vaccine recommendations.
The CDC said in a news release that the shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna will be available this week.
Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated as soon as the shots are available. They’re debuting amid a late summer rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States.
With infections on the rise, some Americans say they’re having a hard time finding at-home Covid-19 tests. Major pharmacy chains say they have seen a recent uptick in antigen test kit sales, but test manufacturers say that a sudden increase in demand, not a slump in production, is to blame for any problems finding tests on store shelves.
The makers of some tests say they are ramping up production in preparation for the fall 2023 virus season.
Despite increased demand, Americans should not worry about a potential shortage, according to Mara Aspinall, a professor of practice in biomedical diagnostics at Arizona State University.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were only a handful of at-home test brands that had emergency use authorization, she said. Today, there are more than 30.
The number of tests used per case is also down, Aspinall said, limiting the number of purchases.
“Today, with many adults having it for the second or sometimes third time, the number of tests being used per incident of Covid-19 is significantly lower for most of the country.”
Aspinall also notes that changing attitudes are influencing whether someone will purchase an at-home test.
“The number of people who feel the need to hoard the tests is lower,” she said, because COVID-19 no longer has that “fear factor.”
