Health chiefs today recommended the new variant-busting Covid booster for virtually every American.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging every adult and child over six months of age to take the new vaccine, which is designed to target newer versions of the Omicron variant.
The agency’s independent panel of experts voted 13-1 on Tuesday to recommend the shots, with the agency’s director, Dr. Mandy Cohen, saying the updated jabs would “better protect you and your loved ones.”
Health officials hope to boost immunity levels across the country before winter as Covid rates rise nationally for the first time this year – although top experts expect it will be another mild wave.
The new shots – designed to boost protection against newer variants – are considered safe for every American over six months of age, as were previous vaccinations
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, has recommended the vaccinations for virtually every American today.
The CDC director has yet to sign the recommendation, but if she does, the vaccines will be available in pharmacies within 48 hours.
Today’s recommendation means that the cost of the vaccinations will be covered by public and private health insurance.
The recommendation comes a day after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday that the shots were safe for use in anyone aged six months and older.
Announcing the expert committee’s recommendation, Dr Mandy Cohen said: ‘We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst consequences of Covid.
“CDC now recommends an updated Covid vaccination for everyone six months and older to better protect you and your loved ones.”
The latest shots – made by Pfizer and Moderna – target an Omicron variant called XBB.1.5, which was dominant in the US during the summer months but has now largely subsided.
Yet it is so close to the coronavirus strains that cause most Covid illnesses today that the FDA determined yesterday that it would provide good cross-protection.
Initial tests show it is also effective at protecting against BA.2.86, which has sparked fears of a new Covid wave.
There are also promising signs that it will work against the EG.5 Covid variant, which is currently dominant in the US.
Of the 14 experts on ACIP, only one — Dr. Pablo Sanchez, a pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio — voted against the measure.
He told CNN: ‘I want to be clear that I am not against this vaccine. The limited data available looks great.
“(But) we have extremely limited data on children… and I think that should be made available… to parents.”
However, other experts said this would unnecessarily restrict access to the updated Covid vaccine.
Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, who represented the American Medical Association at the meeting, said: “There is no group that is clearly not at risk from Covid.
‘And even children and adults without underlying conditions can still experience serious illness from Covid.’
America has previously been an outlier in the rollout of Covid boosters, recommending Covid shots to younger age groups where some experts say they already have sufficient immunity from previous vaccinations and infections.
Britain has only recommended the updated Covid booster for adults aged 65 and over – saying other groups have sufficient immunity.
Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory panel, also told DailyMail.com last week that healthy adults under the age of 75 do not need to get the updated Covid booster vaccine.