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U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 vaccines<\/a> on Thursday, shots designed to more closely target recent virus strains\u2014and hopefully whatever variants cause trouble this winter, too. \u201cWe strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants,\u201d said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks. While most Americans have some degree of immunity from prior infections or vaccinations or both, that protection wanes. Last fall\u2019s shots targeted a different part of the coronavirus family tree, a strain that\u2019s no longer circulating\u2014and CDC data shows only about 22.5% of adults and 14% of children received it. This fall\u2019s vaccine recipe is tailored to a newer branch<\/a> of omicron descendants. The Pfizer and Moderna shots target a subtype called KP.2 that was common earlier this year. While additional offshoots, particularly KP.3.1.1, now are spreading, they\u2019re closely enough related that the vaccines promise cross-protection. A Pfizer spokesman said the company submitted data to FDA showing its updated vaccine \u201cgenerates a substantially improved response\u201d against multiple virus subtypes compared to last fall\u2019s vaccine.<\/p>\n The big question: How soon to get vaccinated? This summer\u2019s wave of COVID-19 isn\u2019t over but the inevitable winter surges tend to be worse. And while COVID-19 vaccines do a good job preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death, protection against mild infection lasts only a few months. That includes older adults, people with weak immune systems or other serious medical problems, nursing home residents and pregnant women.<\/p>\n Healthy younger adults and children \u201ccan get vaccinated anytime. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a real reason to wait,\u201d Hopkins said \u2013 although it\u2019s OK to seek the shots in the fall, when plenty of doses will have arrived at pharmacies and doctor\u2019s offices.<\/p>\n The exception: The CDC says anyone who recently had COVID-19 can wait three months after they recover before getting vaccinated, until immunity from that infection begins to wane.<\/p>\n Hopkins, who sees patients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, calls it vital for more youngsters to get vaccinated this year\u2014especially with schools starting as coronavirus levels are high around the country.<\/p>\n \u201cCOVID does not kill many children, thank goodness, but it kills far more children than influenza does,\u201d Hopkins said, adding that teachers, too, should quickly get up to date with the vaccine.<\/p>\n Health authorities say it\u2019s fine to get a COVID-19 and flu vaccination at the same time, a convenience so people don\u2019t have to make two trips. But while many drugstores already are advertising flu shots, the prime time for that vaccination tends to be late September through October, just before flu typically starts its cold weather climb.<\/p>\n The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n More on COVID and vaccines:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
With the Food and Drug Administration\u2019s clearance, Pfizer<\/a> and Moderna<\/a> are set to begin shipping millions of doses. A third U.S. manufacturer, Novavax, expects its modified vaccine version to be available a little later.<\/p>\n\n
The agency\u2019s decision came a bit earlier than last year\u2019s rollout of updated COVID-19 vaccines, as a summer wave of the virus<\/a> continues in most of the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already has recommended this fall\u2019s shot for everyone age 6 months and older. Vaccinations could be available within days.<\/p>\n
Skipping the new shot is \u201ca hazardous way to go,\u201d because even if your last infection was mild, your next might be worse or leave you with long COVID symptoms, said Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr. of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.<\/p>\n
People who are at high risk from the virus shouldn\u2019t wait but instead schedule vaccinations once shots are available in their area, Hopkins advised.<\/p>\n
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