New COVID-19 vaccine boosters, targeting new Omicron strains of the virus, are expected to roll out across the U.S. in September – a month ahead of schedule, the Biden administration announced this week.
. With about 130,000 new COVID cases per day, and about 440 deaths, officials say the updated boosters may help rein in those figures by targeting the highly transmissible and widely circulating Omicron strains.
Right now, we have a recommendation for adults over the age of 50 or adults who are at higher risk for severe COVID-related illness [to get] a second booster. For them, there will probably be a timeline that says you should get the booster if you’re X amount of months or more from your second booster; or X amount of months or more from your first booster, if you’ve only had one.I would imagine that once this bivalent booster becomes available, it will be recommended for all adults.
Q: Some health experts are concerned “vaccine fatigue” will have an impact on the booster campaign. What’s your take?We have seen this fatigue in the proportion of individuals who are boosted with a first booster and even boosted with a second. But having those earlier boosters along with this new bivalent booster is important, because essentially, what we’re doing is really priming the immune system.
Q: There haven’t been clinical trials of these new mRNA boosters. How strong is the evidence that they will be effective against the emerging Omicron variants?There have been some studies – some great studies – looking at things like neutralizing antibodies, which we use as a surrogate for clinical trials. But that is not the same as studying the outcome of interest, which would be hospitalizations.
Q: If you’ve received a non-mRNA COVID vaccine, like those produced by Johnson & Johnson and Novavax, should you also get an mRNA booster?Right now, the CDC guidelines do state that if your primary vaccine series was not with an mRNA vaccine then being boosted with an mRNA is a fine thing to do, and it’s actually encouraged. So that’s not going to change with the bivalent booster.
If you know someone or have a colleague who is currently pregnant or immune-suppressed, think about how you can protect them with mask-wearing, even if it’s just when you’re in one-on-one closed-door meetings with that individual.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Breast Cancer Treatments Inspired by mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine InnovationScientists at Queen’s University Belfast have received funding from Breast Cancer Now to support their quest for new treatments inspired by COVID-19 vaccine innovation. The research team will adapt lessons from the development of COVID-19 vaccines in the search for new treatments for an aggressive f
Read more »
Biden–Harris Administration Releases Two New Reports on Long COVID to Support Patients and Further ResearchMillions of Americans are living with LongCOVID. To combat this, HHS is leading a whole-of-government response with two reports that address the impacts of Long COVID, helping to pave an actionable path forward in the fight against it.
Read more »
LAUSD Will Scale Back COVID-19 Testing, ‘Daily Pass’ Health Checks When New School Year StartsThe policy shift drastically scales back the testing effort that, at its outset, accounted for the lion’s share of all COVID-19 tests conducted in L.A. County.
Read more »
Polio virus found in New York wastewater, but no new cases - New York Amsterdam NewsThe polio virus was detected in wastewater samples from the suburban county near New York City where an unvaccinated adult recently contracted the life-threatening disease, but health officials said Tuesday they have not identified any additional cases.
Read more »
Leaders in New York celebrate new bill aiming to boost local economy and innovationThe CHIPS and Science Act - passed by the House last week - will boost semiconductor production, which local leaders are saying will boost local economies and innovation.
Read more »
Fort Worth Alliance Air Show Gets a New Name, New LookThe annual air show held at Fort Worth’s Alliance Airport is getting a new name and new look.
Read more »