Shots with new COVID-19 vaccine could begin next week – and can be given with your flu vaccine.
U.S. health experts have endorsed the launch this fall’s new and improved COVID vaccination campaign, recommending on Thursday to start inoculations with redesigned Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that are better matched to the season’s circulating strains of the virus.
CVS expects to begin receiving shipments of the new bivalent booster on a rolling basis within the next few days. Walgreens says it will soon offer appointments at select pharmacies. The number of Californians who have opted to get shots has dwindled with each newly recommended vaccine. While 72% of residents have completed the primary vaccine series, only about 59% have received one or two boosters.
Broad update of the booster early this fall could prevent an estimated 100,000 hospitalizations, compared to a later or more limited roll-out, said Dr. Sara Oliver, who leads the CDC’s COVID-19 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices work group. Specifically, the committee voted to recommend the new Moderna booster to everyone age 18 and older and the new Pfizer booster to everyone aged 12 and older. These shots will replace the existing booster.
People who were recently sickened by COVID-19 should consider delaying the new shot for three months from their onset of symptoms or postiive test.