The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stands by its recommendation that everyone, including babies, get vaccinated against Covid.
In new guidance released today, the health agency said all Americans six months old and older should receive the new updated booster shot in the fall.
The CDC said that healthy children and adults “still experience severe COVID-19 illness” and that “antibodies weaken over time due to vaccination, previous infection, or both.”
The rollout of new booster shots began last month and includes updated vaccines to protect against sub-variants that have led to a surge in cases.
The vaccines have proven to be extremely safe and pose a negligible risk of serious side effects, but over time questions have grown about their effectiveness.
The CDC recommendation means the vaccine is safe even for very young children, but some health officials have questioned whether vaccination is necessary for babies
This graphic shows the acceptance of the booster vaccination in fall 2022 in America in different age groups. The dark purple line represents people ages 65 and older, the dotted pink line represents ages 50 to 64, the solid green line represents ages 25 to 49, the dotted green line represents ages 18 to 24, and the solid yellow line for 12 to 49 year olds. 17, thickest dotted yellow for 5-11 years and dotted yellow line at bottom for 2-4 years.
America is an outlier internationally in recommending Covid booster shots for younger age groups, while other countries have so far only offered them to older adults.
But doctors in the U.S. say the recommendation is due to the country’s healthcare model and that the blanket recommendation is needed to ensure health insurers cover the costs.
In comparison, the UK is only rolling out the updated Covid booster jab to adults aged 65 and over – citing them as the group at highest risk of severe illness.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the former White House Covid coordinator, said the UK’s decision was not based on calculations about who would benefit most, but rather that the government actually could not afford to offer the vaccinations to everyone.
Last year, the CDC also recommended the bivalent Covid booster vaccination for everyone six months and older.
Dr. Paul Offit, who advises the FDA on a range of infectious disease vaccinations, previously told DailyMail.com that middle-aged and younger Americans without chronic diseases do not need another Covid booster shot because they already have one Strong enough immunity from previous Covid vaccinations and infections to prevent serious illness this winter.
The FDA previously said that most people ages five and older can receive a single dose of the latest booster shot, even if they have never received a Covid shot before.
Children aged five and over can receive a single dose of a Covid booster vaccination, provided at least two months have passed since their last Covid vaccination.
Children between the ages of six months and four years, however, are entitled to one or two doses of the booster vaccination. The timing of the injections depends on when they received their last Covid vaccination.
If the child is under five years old and has not yet received a Covid vaccination, they can receive three doses of the Pfizer booster or two doses of the Moderna booster.
Americans can get the latest vaccinations at clinics or pharmacies. Now that the vaccine rollout has been handed over to private companies, most Americans will continue to have free access to the Covid vaccine as part of their insurance.
Even the uninsured and most underinsured people have the opportunity to get a free shot.
The CDC recommends people wait at least two months since their last Covid vaccination.
Bivalent mRNA Covid boosters have been recommended in the US since September last year, but they were designed to protect against variants that are no longer widespread.
In recent months, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pfizer and Moderna’s latest booster that protects against the Omicron variant XBB.1.5.
The protein-based shot from the biotech company Novavax is also approved.
The new variants EG.5 and BA.2.86 have sparked concern in recent months because they have been shown to be the most contagious yet, with EG.5 currently predominant in the United States.
The updated vaccines target the XBB.1.5 variants, which currently only appear in a small proportion of cases. However, tests show they should still provide protection against the currently circulating strains.
Official data showed there were 18,139 Covid hospitalizations across the country in the week ending September 30, down six per cent on the previous week.
The number was well below this year’s peak of 44,400 visitors in January.
Overall, the appetite for Covid boosters has weakened. Since the latest shots became available, only four million Americans, or one percent, have been vaccinated with the latest version.
And only 17 percent of eligible Americans received the latest Covid booster shot.