Covid-19 vaccines have been fine-tuned to teach the body how to defend itself against the variants that are currently in circulation.
They should be available in mid-September in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for its acronym in English).
Agency officials spoke to the CNN on Thursday (24), under the condition of not being identified, about the US government’s preparations for the fall and winter respiratory virus season in the country.
The FDA is expected to approve the updated vaccines for the country within a few weeks. Thereafter, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of independent experts who advise the US CDC on vaccination decisions, will evaluate the safety and efficacy of new vaccines and make recommendations for their use.
After approval of these recommendations by the director of the CDC, the vaccines can be released and applied to the population.
Officials said the Advisory Committee will convene quickly following the FDA’s decision to expedite regulatory steps and get the vaccines to market.
The Advisory Committee has a meeting scheduled to discuss Covid-19 vaccines on September 12, which means that vaccines could be available soon after that date.
The announcement comes amid a surge in late summer Covid-19 cases in the northern hemisphere.
The CDC tracks the disease by the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits, as well as monitoring the testing of travelers at some airports. More than 12,600 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19, and that number is rising, with a 22% jump in the most recent week.
Still, according to officials, those numbers represent about a third of those recorded a year ago, largely thanks to immunity resulting from vaccines and previous infections.
However, antibodies against Covid-19 decrease over time and many people need a booster.
Only about 17% of eligible Americans received the bivalent vaccines last fall, the last time immunizations were updated.
Three vaccines are expected to be available this year. Two are mRNA vaccines, from Pfizer and dModerna, and a third is a protein subunit vaccine from Novavax. The Novavax vaccine uses an older type of technology that contains the spike protein from the virus that causes Covid-19, as well as an ingredient that speeds up the immune system to produce antibodies against it.
Both vaccine technologies are well understood and safe, and have been proven in the real world and in clinical studies to reduce the risk of hospitalization and deaths from Covid-19, officials said.
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The FDA plans to grant full licensing for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to people ages 12 and older. Vaccines for children 11 and under, as well as the Novavax vaccine, will be available with an emergency use authorization, officials said.
Vaccines have been updated to teach the body to fight the XBB.1.5 subvariant of the coronavirus. They are also expected to retain potency against related strains. All three vaccine makers say tests show the vaccines are effective against EG.5, the currently dominant strain in the US.
Although vaccines were previously provided free of charge by the government, this is the first time that vaccines will be provided through the commercial market.
Under the country’s Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans will be required to cover the full cost of vaccinations, with no co-payment.
People who are uninsured, or who do not have insurance that covers immunizations, can still get free vaccines through an interim government program.
“This interim program will exist through a few channels,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in an interview with CNN last week. “People can go to a federally qualified health center or the department of public health. […] The third option is that we are working with partner pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and others to make it available in pharmacies as well.”
Details of the partnership with pharmacies are still being worked out and there may be a slight delay in getting free vaccines at some stores. But health departments and federally qualified health centers should receive them immediately, Cohen said.
People will only need to inform the vaccine provider that they are uninsured to qualify for the benefit, she added.
Cohen also said that unless a person has never been vaccinated and has never been infected, it’s probably better to wait until the new vaccines are rolled out in September rather than opting to get one of the older bivalent vaccines now.
Getting a bivalent vaccine now could delay the possibility of getting the new vaccine in the coming weeks, she warned in a Q&A video posted online. She advised anyone in this circumstance to speak to their doctor or nurse about their individual risk.
In addition, there are still a significant number of Covid-19 tests in stock. The government has shipped these free tests to nursing homes, federally qualified health centers, schools, libraries, and many other places that serve the public. That program will continue, officials said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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