FDA Approves New Covid Vaccines Amid Summer Surge
The updated vaccines target the currently circulating KP.2 variant.
https://www.wired.com/story/new-updated-covid-vaccines-announcement-2024/
The updated vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, target a variant of Omicron called KP.2, one of the several so-called “FLiRT variants” that collectively are responsible for the current Covid wave. The new vaccines will likely take a few weeks to reach pharmacies and doctors offices.
“Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated Covid-19 vaccine,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a statement on Thursday.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the new vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older, whether or not they have ever previously gotten a Covid-19 vaccine.
Updated COVID-19 Vaccines for Use in the United States Beginning in Fall 2024
If you’ve had a Covid-19 infection recently, the CDC says you can consider delaying your vaccine dose by three months.
“Most of the time, we recommend getting both the Covid and the flu vaccines more towards late September, October, to try to carry people through the winter months,” says Rosha McCoy, a pediatrician and senior director of healthcare affairs at the Association of American Medical Colleges. “Certainly, if somebody is high risk, or is going to be in a high risk situation, they may want to get it sooner.”