The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a recommendation on Tuesday, urging everyone aged 6 months and older to receive the updated COVID-19 vaccines this fall. This move comes in the wake of a favorable vote by the CDC’s advisory committee earlier the same day.
In a media statement, Dr. Mandy Cohen, Director of the CDC, stated, “We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from COVID-19. CDC is now recommending updated COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months and older to better protect you and your loved ones.”
The CDC anticipates that these updated vaccines will become available within the next 48 hours in certain regions.
However, the uptake of these vaccines remains uncertain. Data indicates that only 17% of eligible individuals received the last booster shot in 2022, according to Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
The rollout of these updated vaccines coincides with a late-summer increase in COVID-19 cases. In the week ending September 2, 18,871 individuals were hospitalized with COVID-19, reflecting an 8.7% rise from the previous week. Nevertheless, this figure remains significantly lower than the same period in 2022 when hospitalizations reached 34,546.
Megan Wallace, a CDC epidemiologist, noted during Tuesday’s meeting that while current hospitalization rates are low, recent weeks have seen an upward trend, with further increases expected as the respiratory virus season approaches.
The newly updated COVID-19 shots, developed by Pfizer and Moderna, target a subvariant of omicron known as XBB.1.5, which accounts for over 90% of circulating COVID-19 strains, according to the CDC.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issued a broad recommendation, suggesting that individuals aged 5 and older should receive one dose of the vaccine this fall. The committee voted 13 to 1 in favor of this recommendation.
Dr. Schaffner, not a member of the committee, emphasized, “A comprehensive recommendation is the easiest, most straightforward and simplest to communicate. I think the more people vaccinated, the safer our communities will be, the fewer people we will have in the hospital.”
Certain vulnerable groups may require multiple shots, including children aged 4 and under who have never been vaccinated and individuals with weakened immune systems.
While the elderly face the highest risk of severe COVID-19 complications, including hospitalization and death, the CDC’s recommendations also include younger adults and children. This is based on evidence showing that 54% of children and teenagers hospitalized with COVID-19 have no underlying health conditions that would increase their vulnerability.
The committee took into account rare cases of heart inflammation (myocarditis and pericarditis) following COVID-19 vaccinations, particularly among teenage boys. However, they concluded that the benefits of vaccination outweighed the risks, even in this higher-risk group.
It’s important to note that the CDC’s recommendations pertain exclusively to the updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which received FDA approval on Monday. The FDA is currently reviewing data from another vaccine manufacturer, Novavax.
For the first time, the cost of COVID-19 vaccines will not be covered by the federal government, although most insurance plans, both private and public, will continue to cover them. The list price for the vaccine is expected to exceed $100 per shot.
Uninsured individuals will have access to the vaccines free of charge through community health centers and a “bridge” program by the Biden administration, available until the end of the next year. However, previous federal funding for outreach, education, and vaccine access in lower-income areas has been exhausted, raising concerns among public health experts.
Dr. Julie Morita, Executive Vice President of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, expressed worry, stating that these underserved groups may not be aware of vaccine availability or have the means to access vaccination sites.
A recent study published in JAMA Network Open confirmed the safety and effectiveness of simultaneously receiving the COVID-19 and flu vaccines. This combination is expected to continue in the coming years.
Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health and former White House COVID response coordinator during the Biden administration, explained, “Every year, we update our flu vaccine to match the flu strain that’s circulating. We’re starting to do the same thing with the COVID shots. It’s just your annual COVID shot at this point.”
