It has been reported that new Covid-19 booster shots targeting the highly contagious omicron variant could be available soon after Labor Day and all Americans 12 years and older will be eligible for the shot, which experts hope will provide an additional tool in the fight against the coronavirus and guard against a winter surge.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to sign off on the new bivalent Covid shots—which target both the original Covid strain as well as omicron subvariants — sometime this week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will then have a meeting September 1 and 2, with a final sign off on the shots shortly after, paving the way for them to be available as soon as September 3, according to a report in Bloomberg News.
An article in the New York Times stated that Pfizer’s booster will be available to everyone 12 and older, while Moderna’s shot will only be offered to adults.
Those who have already received one or two booster shots are still eligible for the omicron vaccine, the Times reported, though those who have recently received a dose might be advised to wait “a few months” before getting the retooled booster, according to Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine regulator.
Those at high risk for severe disease who were recently boosted with the original Covid vaccine will still be protected for “some period of time,” but should get the omicron-specific booster within “a couple of months,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Forbes magazine, adding those vulnerable to severe disease who have not gotten a recent shot should get the omicron booster right away.
However, TSCL recommends you check with your doctor if you have any concerns or question about whether you should get the new vaccine.
