"So I think all the things the FDA is considering make a lot of sense." "As far as the tools that we have right now, I think it just makes the most sense to plan to update each year as close as we can to the currently circulating variant," says Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona. However, many questions remain about emerging booster strategy. Some immunologists and vaccine researchers say simplifying the process along the lines of the flu vaccine is appropriate at this point in the pandemic. The agency notes that if a more dangerous COVID variant were to emerge, it might reconsider the vaccine strain at other times of the year on an "as-needed and emergent basis." "FDA anticipates conducting an assessment of SARS-CoV-2 strains at least annually and to engage VRBPAC in about early June of each year regarding strain selection for the fall season," the FDA wrote in its briefing document, adding that updated vaccines would be readied for use by September each year. That's how the flu vaccine is formulated each year. Vaccine makers would update the annual shot through a process that would begin each spring to try a match the vaccine as closely as possible to whatever variant will likely be dominant in the coming winter. Shots - Health News Can you get COVID and the flu at the same time? Those who still need to receive two doses initially, such as young children and older people, would use the same formulation for all three shots. They wouldn't have to worry about how many shots they've already gotten and which one they got when. Under the new approach, most people would be advised to simply get whatever the latest version of the vaccine is annually each fall like the flu vaccine. That's followed at least two months later by a booster, currently the bivalent shot that's tailored to protect against omicron. The committee will vote on the agency's proposal.Ĭurrently, people who want to be fully vaccinated against COVID have to first get their primary vaccinations - two shots of the original vaccine spaced weeks apart. NPR reported the proposed shift early Monday morning, and later Monday the FDA outlined it publicly in a set of documents released in advance of a meeting Thursday of the agency's Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC). This is according to a federal official who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The goal is to simplify vaccination against COVID and perhaps adopt an approach similar to what is used for the flu vaccine, with annual updates to match whatever strain of the virus is circulating. The Food and Drug Administration is considering a major shift in the nation's COVID-19 vaccine strategy. Kenneth Williams Health Center in Los Angeles, Nov. Licensed vocational nurse Denise Saldana vaccinates Pri DeSilva, associate director of Individual and Corporate Giving, with a fourth Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster at the Dr.
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