New Covid boosters are set to be rolled out as early as next Wednesday — after tests showed they trigger protection against new variants.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mandy Cohen, is expected to sign off on the shots on September 13, making them available.
CDC experts are yet to say who will be offered the updated vaccines, but the White House previously suggested they would be made available to all age groups.
Only 17 percent of Americans have come forward to get a single updated booster since the two-dose regimen was expanded, amid growing vaccine hesitancy and suggestions that middle-aged adults — who have stronger immune systems — do not need the updated shots.
It is not clear who will be offered the shots, but the White House previously suggested they would be made available to all age groups (stock photo)
The updated boosters are mRNA vaccines that are being made by Pfizer and Moderna.
The shots are designed to target the XBB.1.5, or ‘Kraken’, variant that was dominant in the US for most of this summer.
But early test results from Moderna show their shot will also likely be effective against BA.2.86, or ‘Pirola’, which has sparked fears over a fresh wave.
Tests have already shown the shot is effective against EG.5, or ‘Eris’, which is the current dominant strain in the US.
Announcing the BA.2.86 test results today, Moderna’s head of infectious diseases Jacqueline Miller said: ‘We think this is news people will want to hear as they prepare to go out and get their fall boosters.’
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently considering the vaccines, but is expected to authorize them for use within the next seven days.
An independent panel of advisors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will then meet on September 12 to determine who should receive the shots.
A sign off from the CDC director could come as early as September 13, or next Wednesday, which would make them available nationwide.
Most Americans will be able to get the booster shots for free via their health insurance, experts say.
Vaccine uptake continues to wane in America amid anti-vaxx conspiracy theories and little sign that further shots will benefit healthy middle-aged adults.
When the vaccines were first rolled out, tens of millions failed to come forward to get the jab.
Uptake dipped, however, during the first wave of boosters in September 2021 — which targeted the Wuhan strain.
And the following winter — with jabs targeting the then-dominant Omicron variant plus the Wuhan virus — only 17 percent of eligible Americans came forward to get them.
Officials are expecting further poor uptake levels this year.
A CDC official said late last month: ‘Our goal, our imperative, our task, is to make sure we’re using those tools.
‘Vaccination is going to continue to be key this year because immunity wanes and because the Covid virus continues to change.’
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