CDC. Recommends new Covid vaccines for all Americans

Everyone 6 months and older should receive at least one dose, the agency said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Tuesday that all Americans 6 months and older receive at least one dose of the latest Covid shots, the last in a trio of vaccines intended to prevent a new wave of respiratory infections this fall and winter. p>

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Covid vaccines reformulated by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. On Tuesday, the scientific advisors of the C.D.C. reviewed the data and voted to recommend the shots. Major pharmacies will likely have the new vaccines available later this week.

Vaccines against influenza and respiratory syncytial virus are already on shelves. The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone aged 6 months and older, and the R.S.V. vaccine for everyone 60 and older, in consultation with a health care provider.

At a meeting Tuesday, some C.D.C. advisers. that they were unsure about recommending the new Covid vaccines to young adults, or that they had doubts about potential side effects, particularly in children and young men.

Others worried that approving vaccines for all Americans could undermine the message about the increased need for those most at risk of contracting Covid, including the elderly.

But the committee ultimately voted in favor of new vaccines for everyone, citing data showing the short- and long-term risks of Covid at all ages.

“It is clear that vaccination will prevent serious illness and death at all ages. groups,” said Dr. Beth Bell, professor of global health at the University of Washington.

The panel made recommendations only regarding updated Covid shots by Pfizer and Moderna. The timing and number of recommended doses vary based on age and prior vaccinations, but most Americans should get at least one shot, scientists said.

The guidelines will be expanded to include another Novavax vaccine and any other vaccines authorized by the F.D.A. In the coming months. This injection may provide a suitable alternative for people who cannot receive mRNA vaccines like those from Pfizer and Moderna.

"I hope this will facilitate availability of the Novavax vaccine once the vaccine is available. FDA has reviewed, reviewed and potentially authorized it," said Dr. Demeter Daskalakis, acting director of the C.D.C.'s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax told the C.D.C. panel Tuesday that they will charge $120 to $130 per dose for new Covid vaccines. But the vaccines will be available for free to most Americans until 'in December 2024, through private insurers and a new federal program for the uninsured.

For some Americans, vaccines cannot be administered. come soon enough. Hospital admissions and deaths associated with Covid have increased steadily since July, although the figures remain low compared to the same period in other recent years.

Many others now see Covid as only a slight threat. Fewer than half of adults over 65, and about one in five American adults overall, opted for the bivalent booster offered last fall. (The new shots replace the bivalent booster, which should no longer be used, the C.D.C. said)

The most vulnerable Americans — the elderly, the immunocompromised and ...