9/13 NEWSBREAK: Get new Covid vaccine booster, CDC recommends

Americans may be able to receive an updated Covid-19 vaccine as early as today after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday endorsed the shots for all Americans over 6 months old.

The new shots from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech will hit markets just as the U.S. begins to enter the fall and winter respiratory virus season. The updated vaccines target the XBB.1.5 variant and are designed to reduce the severity of symptoms of infection and curb the risk of “long Covid.” While the XBB.1.5 is no longer the dominant variant, experts say the vaccines should still be effective at preventing severe infection from other circulating variants as well.

Both CVS and Walgreens across the U.S. will have vaccines available in the coming days, but experts are worried that demand may be low. In the past year, only about 20% of adults received a booster shot. While some chalk it up to pandemic fatigue, others point to lower numbers as a reason for less concern.

Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations reportedly are steadily rising, but the numbers are far below where they were at the height of the pandemic. Infections are not surging and hospitals are far from being overwhelmed like they were at the height of the pandemic. In addition, more than 95% of the population has some level of immunity already, whether from vaccination or previous infection, officials say

The shots are not funded by the federal government this time because the public health emergency expired in May 2023. The Covid vaccines will be commercialized like flu shots and other vaccines, putting the burden of ordering shots on hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies, and leaving the public on the hook for paying for it.

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