The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that everyone over the age of six months should get the updated Covid-19 vaccine this fall.
The recommendation came just hours after a CDC advisory committee voted in favor of these guidelines, and just days after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine booster shots.
These moves come as the nation has seen an uptick in infections and hospitalizations. The booster doses are slated to be available almost immediately in most locations.
NBC News reports that “it’s unclear whether most people will get them … Just 17% of people who were eligible for the last booster shot in 2022 got it, said Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee … For the first time, the cost of Covid vaccines will not be covered by the federal government, though most insurance plans, both private and public, will cover them. The list price will top $100 per shot.
Those who are uninsured will have access to the shots free of charge through community health centers, as well as a ‘bridge’ program from the Biden administration through the end of next year.”
It seems likely that this will become a regular occurrence.
“Every year, we update our flu vaccine to match the flu strain that’s circulating,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health and former White House Covid response coordinator with the Biden administration. “We’re starting to do the same thing with the Covid shots. It’s just your annual Covid shot at this point.”
KC’s View:
I have to wait two weeks or so to get my Covid booster; I got my RSV vaccine earlier this week, and they recommend waiting that long before getting a new Covid shot. But I’ve got Tuesday, September 26, circled on my calendar. I have total confidence, and no hesitation.
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