Health

FDA recommends annual COVID-19 vaccine for most Americans


WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials want to make the COVID-19 vaccine like the annual flu vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday proposed a simplified approach to future vaccination efforts, allowing most adults and children to be vaccinated once a year to protect against mutant virus.

This means Americans will no longer have to track how many shots they’ve had or how many months have passed since their last booster shot.

The proposal comes as boosters have become a hard sell. While more than 80% of the U.S. population received at least one dose of the vaccine, only 16% of those eligible received the most recent booster dose allowed in August.

The FDA will ask a panel of outside vaccine experts to weigh in at a meeting on Thursday. The agency is expected to consider its advice while deciding on future vaccine requirements for manufacturers.

In documents posted online, FDA scientists say many Americans now have “full pre-existing immunity” against the coronavirus through vaccination, infection, or a combination of the two. According to the agency, that protection should be enough to switch to an annual booster shot against the latest strains in circulation and make the COVID-19 vaccination more like an annual flu shot.

Not a Modern Healthcare subscriber? Sign up today.

For adults with weakened immune systems and young children, a combination of two doses may be needed for protection. FDA scientists and vaccine companies will study vaccination coverage, infection rates and other data to decide who should get one shot versus a series of two doses.

The FDA will also ask its panel to vote on whether all vaccines should target the same strain. That step would be necessary to make the injections interchangeable, eliminating the current complex system of basic vaccinations and boosters.

Pfizer and Moderna’s initial shots – known as the main series – were aimed at the virus strain that first emerged in 2020 and quickly swept the world. The updated boosters launched last fall have also been adapted to target the already dominant omicron relatives.

As suggested by the FDA, the agency, independent experts, and manufacturers would decide annually on targeting in early summer, allowing several months to produce and roll out updated shots before Fall. That’s roughly the same approach used long ago to select strains for the annual flu vaccine.

Ultimately, FDA officials say moving to an annual schedule will make it easier to promote future vaccination campaigns, which could ultimately raise vaccination rates nationally.

The initial two-dose COVID shots provided strong protection against serious illness and death regardless of variant, but protection against mild infections waned. Experts continue to debate whether the latest surge significantly enhances protection, especially for young, healthy Americans.

Download Modern Healthcare’s app to stay informed when there’s breaking industry news.

news7g

News7g: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button