Current:Home > StocksFDA approves updated COVID-19 vaccines, shots should be available in days -SecureWealth Bridge
FDA approves updated COVID-19 vaccines, shots should be available in days
View
Date:2025-04-14 09:53:11
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, shots designed to more closely target recent virus strains -- and hopefully whatever variants cause trouble this winter, too.
With the Food and Drug Administration’s clearance, Pfizer and Moderna 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.
“We strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants,” said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks.
The agency’s decision came a bit earlier than last year’s rollout of updated COVID-19 vaccines, as a summer wave of the virus continues in most of the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already has recommended this fall’s shot for everyone age 6 months and older. Vaccinations could be available within days.
While most Americans have some degree of immunity from prior infections or vaccinations or both, that protection wanes. Last fall’s shots targeted a different part of the coronavirus family tree, a strain that’s no longer circulating -- and CDC data shows only about 22.5% of adults and 14% of children received it.
Skipping the new shot is “a hazardous way to go,” 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.
This fall’s vaccine recipe is tailored to a newer branch 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’re closely enough related that the vaccines promise cross-protection. A Pfizer spokesman said the company submitted data to FDA showing its updated vaccine “generates a substantially improved response” against multiple virus subtypes compared to last fall’s vaccine.
The big question: How soon to get vaccinated? This summer’s wave of COVID-19 isn’t 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.
People who are at high risk from the virus shouldn’t wait but instead schedule vaccinations once shots are available in their area, Hopkins advised.
That includes older adults, people with weak immune systems or other serious medical problems, nursing home residents and pregnant women.
Healthy younger adults and children “can get vaccinated anytime. I don’t think there’s a real reason to wait,” Hopkins said – although it’s OK to seek the shots in the fall, when plenty of doses will have arrived at pharmacies and doctor’s offices.
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.
Hopkins, who sees patients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, calls it vital for more youngsters to get vaccinated this year – especially with schools starting as coronavirus levels are high around the country.
“COVID does not kill many children, thank goodness, but it kills far more children than influenza does,” Hopkins said, adding that teachers, too, should quickly get up to date with the vaccine.
Health authorities say it’s fine to get a COVID-19 and flu vaccination at the same time, a convenience so people don’t 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.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (4486)
Related
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a new way to play—try one month for just $1
- Horoscopes Today, July 25, 2023
- Federal appeals court halts Missouri execution, leading state to appeal
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Breakups are hard, but 'It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake' will make you believe in love again
- Trans man's violent arrest under investigation by Los Angeles sheriff's department
- Dodgers bring back Kiké Hernández in trade with Red Sox
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- We Ranked All of Sandra Bullock's Rom-Coms and Yes, It Was Very Hard to Do
Ranking
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- DeSantis campaign shedding 38 staffers in bid to stay competitive through the fall
- Crews battle untamed central Arizona wildfire, hundreds of homes under enforced evacuation orders
- Bryan Kohberger's attorneys hint alibi defense in Idaho slayings
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Michael Jackson sexual abuse lawsuits on verge of revival by appeals court
- Can the US economy dodge a recession with a 'soft landing?' Here's how that would work.
- Meet the world's most prolific Barbie doll collector
Recommendation
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Department of Education opens investigation into Harvard University's legacy admissions
Chinese and Russian officials to join North Korean commemorations of Korean War armistice
Viva Whataburger! New 24/7 restaurant opening on the Las Vegas Strip this fall.
Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
Most-Shopped Celeb-Recommended Items This Month: Kendall Jenner, Jennifer Aniston, Alix Earle & More
When do new 'Justified: City Primeval' episodes come out? Cast, schedule, how to watch
Chinese and Russian officials to join North Korean commemorations of Korean War armistice