https://mailchi.mp/e1b9f9c249d0/the-weekly-gist-september-15-2023?e=d1e747d2d8

On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration authorized new COVID vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed Tuesday by recommending the shots be given as a single dose for most people five years of age and older. Children older than six months but younger than five, as well as completely unvaccinated people of any age, may be eligible for multiple doses. 

These vaccines were formulated to target the XBB.1.5. variant,

which was the dominant strain in January but has since receded, although initial results suggest they remain effective against all currently circulating variants. Pharmacies and healthcare providers are expected to have the updated vaccines available by early next week. 

The Gist: Due to the end of the COVID public health emergency in May, this COVID vaccination campaign will be the first not directly bankrolled by the federal government. 

While insurers are still required to cover vaccinations without cost-sharing, the uninsured may find free shots, which the Biden administration says it will still provide at certain locations, harder to access. 

Unlike past COVID boosters, reframing this shot as an annual vaccine that patients receive along with their flu shots should help with the rollout, as around 50 percent of Americans got a flu shot in 2022 while only 17 percent received the bivalent COVID booster.

With COVID cases and hospitalizations currently rising, promoting widespread uptake is critical to dampening a likely winter COVID spike.

However, public health officials will have to overcome many Americans’ wearied indifference toward COVID to motivate them to get vaccinated.