The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older be vaccinated.
With summer drawing to a close and many children and teens across the U.S. preparing to return to school next month, it also means an updated COVID-19 vaccine is on the way.
Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Recommendation Americans will get the updated 2024-25 vaccine when it becomes available later this year.
Health officials have used the term “modern vaccine” because they expect that, like with influenza vaccinations, new vaccines will need to be developed each year to adapt to circulating variants.
“Historically, when we talk about COVID vaccines, we’ve talked about a booster shot that you get sometime after your last dose,” said Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and ABC News contributor.
“Currently, we are targeting an annual vaccine for COVID-19, which is similar to influenza, which has been reformulated based on what is circulating, which is why we are talking about an annual campaign and not a booster,” he continued.
Here’s what you need to know about the latest COVID vaccines.
What variants are being targeted?
The COVID-19 vaccine, which will be updated for 2024-25, will target the JN.1 lineage of the virus, an offshoot of the Omicron variant.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration I contacted the manufacturer A vaccine will be formulated that closely matches the KP.2 strain of JN.1.
Who is eligible?
The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age or older be up to date on vaccinations.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines can be administered to people aged 6 months and older, while the Novavax vaccine can be administered to people aged 12 years and older.
When will the vaccine be available?
Updated vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax are expected to be available in August or September.
The CDC says it is safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as a flu shot or RSV vaccine if you are eligible.
For those who decide to get more than one vaccine at one appointment, “we encourage you to use different vaccines,” he said. [arms] “The idea is to avoid exacerbating the pain at the injection site,” Dr. Peter Chin Hong, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told ABC News, “but essentially you get all three at the same time.”
Is the vaccine free?
People with Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance can get updated vaccine coverage.
Over the past few years, the CDC Bridge Access Program A program to provide free COVID-19 vaccines to adults who do not have health insurance or whose insurance does not cover the full cost of the COVID-19 vaccine. This program ends in August 2024.
“We can’t afford to let the Bridge Program become a safety lapse this year,” Chin-Hong said, “and millions of uninsured Americans will have to be covered by their states’ safety net programs.”
Federal funding will be provided for children whose parents or guardians cannot afford to pay for vaccinations. Vaccine Program for ChildrenProviding access to vaccines.
Why should I get vaccinated?
Data shows that COVID-19 vaccines can reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death, and can also lower the risk of developing long COVID.
a September 2023 Analysis The CDC suggested that universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendations could prevent approximately 400,000 hospitalizations and 40,000 deaths over the next two years.
“We need to remember that this virus is constantly changing, and that protection from previous infections and vaccines will wane over time,” Brownstein said. “If you get the latest vaccine combination, you’re guaranteed to get the latest protection. Of course, we’re assuming that, just like in any other year.”
He added that the protective effect of the improved vaccine is likely to last through the winter, when cases and, consequently, hospitalizations and deaths are likely to rise.
Chin Hong said it was important that people at risk of severe illness or hospitalization, such as the elderly, the immunocompromised and those who live with high-risk individuals, get vaccinated to prevent the spread of infection.
