The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all Americans 6 months of age and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine in the fall, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against the virus in the past.
“The most important recommendation to protect yourself and your loved ones from respiratory illness is to get vaccinated,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement. “As we head into respiratory virus season this fall, make plans now to ensure you and your family get both updated flu and COVID vaccines.”
The guidance comes amid what has become a familiar pattern in the U.S. during the summer COVID wave: COVID-related emergency room visits were up more than 23% in the week ending June 22 compared to the previous week, and deaths were up more than 14%, according to CDC data.
Here's what you need to know about the vaccines available this fall.
Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines will target the KP.2 strain of COVID-19, which is currently the second most common strain in the United States, according to CDC data. The KP.3 variant is currently the most common. KP.2, KP.3, and KP.1.1 are part of the so-called FLiRT variants that are currently prevalent in the country.
In contrast, the Novavax vaccine targets JN.1, the parent variant of KP.2, which was most prevalent last winter.
FDA officials initially recommended that vaccine makers target JN.1. When KP.2 became more prevalent, they changed their recommendation, suggesting that new vaccines focus on that strain instead.
So far, the vaccines have lowered the risk of someone being hospitalized or dying from COVID infection, said Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. health“It is unclear how well or how long current vaccine technologies will work against a rapidly mutating virus,” he said. health.
CDC officials would not give a specific date for when a vaccine might become available, saying only that Moderna, Novavax and Pfizer will have improved versions of their vaccines available in the fall.
The last COVID-19 vaccine, an updated version of the previous one, became available in the fall of 2023, but only about 20% of Americans have actually received it.
“Pediatricians and family physicians have to be very, very persuasive to get their patients to get the updated vaccines,” said Dr. John Selig, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo. health“Last year’s updated vaccine was not as widely accepted as we had hoped,” he continued. “This year will be another challenge.”
Adalja stressed the importance of getting vaccinated for those considered high-risk, such as those with weakened immune systems, those over 65, or those with serious underlying medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease. “The key message is to get the vaccine to those at high risk,” he said.
But Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said: health He said it would be “tough” to get the entire American population another dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
“We need to get into a framework where, ‘Here’s your annual flu shot and here’s your annual COVID shot,’” he said. “Hopefully, by making it part of their health care, people will be more receptive to it.”