Feb. 16, 2024: A CDC advisory committee will meet this month to decide whether a spring COVID booster should be introduced for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and others with weakened immune systems.
Members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are expected to vote on Feb. 28 on the spring booster, NBC News reported, citing an anonymous source close to the committee. In the past, the CDC followed the recommendation of its advisory groups.
The spring COVID vaccine would be the same as last fall’s targeting the XBB. 1. 5 subvariant. This vaccine also works unlike the JN. 1 subvariant that is now prevalent in the United States.
“The discussion will be for people who are fully accepting of public fitness recommendations,” said William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. “The committee, with its rigor since the question arose, a second dose for other people at higher risk or for those who want to receive it. “
Americans have not fully embraced the COVID booster introduced last fall. The CDC said on Feb. 9 that only 21. 9% of Americans 18 and older had earned the fall booster, and 42% of those 65 and older had earned it.
Advisory committees in Canada and the U. K. have already rolled out COVID vaccines for seniors, other people living in congregate care settings, and others over the age of 6 months with weakened immune systems.
SOURCES:
NBC News: “CDC Could Propose a Spring Covid Booster for Certain Groups. “
CDC: “Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Meeting,” “Immunization Trends – Adults. “
National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI): “Guidance on an Additional Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Spring for Americans at Higher Risk for Severe Illness from COVID-19. “
Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization: “JCVI Statement on COVID-19 Vaccination in Spring 202 and Considerations for Future COVID-19 Vaccination,” December 2023. “
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