After receiving approval from federal regulators on Wednesday, new coronavirus boosters are soon to be available. The revised vaccinations are made to offer a greater defence against the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants, which continue to be responsible for tens of thousands of infections and hundreds of fatalities each day in the United States.
The federal government will use the boosters as part of a campaign that will begin in the coming days to convince Americans to strengthen their immune systems in anticipation of a possible rise in instances of COVID-19 as the fall weather becomes cooler.
However, the modified boosters have caused some misunderstanding and debate. You must be aware of the following.
When are the shots going to be available?
The boosters must now receive approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its advisors after receiving emergency use authorisation from the Food and Drug Administration. Thursday will be the day of that review. If everything goes according to plan, some shots could be made accessible this weekend and more soon after Labor Day.
What is the cost and where can I purchase one?
The new boosters, which are single-shot immunizations, will be sold in the same locations as the prior boosters and vaccines: doctors’ offices, hospitals, pharmacies, and community health centres.
The revised boosters, like the other coronavirus vaccinations, were bought by the government and will be given to people without charge.
For whom do the boosters exist?
For the new booster from Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, and for the Moderna booster, the CDC is anticipated to prescribe the doses for the same age ranges as the FDA has authorised: 12 and older. Later, officials are anticipated to take into account using the upgraded booster with younger children. Regardless of whether they received any or all of the advised booster doses, anyone who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the two-shot mRNA main series will be qualified.
The current vaccine will still be utilised, but only for the first two shots of the mRNA series and not as a booster.
Should I get the new vaccination immediately away if I recently received a booster of the first one?
No. The FDA advised waiting two months before administering the new booster to those who had recently gotten their initial immunisation or a booster. Obtaining the new booster too soon can reduce its potency.
What negative consequences do the boosters have?
The existing vaccine’s side effects, which include redness and swelling at the injection site, as well as sporadic lethargy, headaches, and muscle pain, are not anticipated to change. Rarely do reactions turn more serious.
Lena H. Sun from The Washington Post contributed to this article.
