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While most young people in this age organization have not even received the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine series, vaccination remains the “best defense” against serious diseases caused by the omicron variant, said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA. Center. for evaluation and studies on biologics, said Thursday in a news release. Many children have been affected by RSV this fall and winter, which has higher to unusually high grades and raised concerns about pediatric bed capacity in hospitals.
In the U. S. , most adults get vaccinated against COVID-19, but a much smaller number have gained bivalent adult booster — about 16%, according to CDC data. Health officials are expanding their call volume, especially for people over sixty and older, who are much more likely to die from COVID-19. People 65 and older account for at least 81% of all COVID-19 deaths, according to the CDC. Recently, they may account for as many as nine in 10 COVID-19-related deaths, according to a Washington Post analysis.
During a briefing with the White House COVID-19 response team, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who will retire from his government duties this month, explained that the reason we need reinforcements is that the virus that causes the disease is different from other diseases. , such as measles, which have the same immune evasion abilities. Upgraded boosters, such as bivalent ones made through Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, repair immunity that has waned due to a previous vaccine or COVID-19 infection.
“There are two problems that, in some ways, are unprecedented when it comes to infectious diseases,” Fauci said. “And they are: just like the vaccine and post-infection coverage, immunity and coverage diminish over time. . “
“If you’re vaccinated against measles or you’re inflamed with measles, duration of coverage is measured at least in decades and probably for life,” Fauci added. “Unfortunately, this is not the case when it comes to a coronavirus and especially SARS-CoV-2. Then you want to update the coverage that we know is smart coverage. “
A graph showing the threat of death from COVID-19 in the prestige of vaccination or booster in adults 50 years of age and older.
Updated or not, the withdrawals have reduced the threat of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 across all age groups. To the CDC’s knowledge from April through early September, unvaccinated adults age 50 and older were 12 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than adults of the same age who gained at least two booster doses. Adults this age who were not vaccinated were 3 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who gained a booster.
Compared to all adults 18 and older who were “up to date” on their COVID-19 vaccines, who won vaccines for which they were eligible, unvaccinated adults of the same age were more than five times more likely to be hospitalized.
Adults who haven’t won the new recall yet have options: you can get bivalent formulas from Moderna or Pfizer and BioNTech. Adults who don’t need either may get Novavax as a booster.
Here’s what we know.
The new vaccines are bivalent, targeting the “original” strain of COVID-19, as well as the new subvariants BA. 4 and BA. 5 that have made up peak cases until recently. Combined, BQ. 1 and BQ. 1. 1 now account for more instances, according to a CDC estimate.
Moderna announced earlier this month the positive effects of its clinical trial with its new bivalent booster. In the largest trial to date of the updated bivalent vaccines, the company said a booster dose of the new bivalent vaccine “induced particularly superior neutralizing antibody titers to opposites. “a BA. 4/BA. 5”, compared to the original amplifier.
Earlier this month, Pfizer and BioNTech also announced the promising effects of their updated booster dose on the elderly, reporting that adults over 55 had an immune reaction 4 times greater than that of the original booster. The protective profile of the new boosters from Pfizer and Moderna was similar to their original vaccines, the corporations said.
Initial research also showed that Moderna’s updated vaccine produced a “physically powerful” antibody reaction opposed to BQ. 1. 1, the company said, a subvariant of omicron that has now outperformed BA. 5, though less physically powerful when in one position. opposed to BA. 5.
The FDA has approved two updated boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Pfizer is for others 5 years of age and older, and Moderna is for other people 6 years of age and older.
When approved by the FDA, the company made its decision based on clinical trials of another bivalent recall that targets the BA. 1 edition of omicron instead of BA. 4/BA/5. In addition, there were studies in mice on the formula BA. 4/BA. 5. While this technique was unprecedented in the past in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, fitness officials say it’s not too far from how we approve flu vaccines. Each year, the flu vaccine is changed with a strain considered the most productive target. And the new COVID-19 boosters don’t introduce new vaccine ingredients either.
“Bivalent and multivalent vaccines are very common, and modifying a vaccine to come with other virus strains does not require converting other ingredients,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf said in a tweet in August. in reviewing strain adjustments in vaccines, such as the annual flu vaccine. “
But in November, Moderna and Pfizer announced the effects (not yet peer-reviewed) of their human trials of the new vaccines, and they appear to produce a more potent antibody reaction than the original vaccines. This is good news, as two years ago initial studies had indicated that the updated formulas were just as protective, or only better, than the original COVID-19 vaccine formulations.
Adults who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, but have not yet gained a booster, can get a booster dose of Novavax. No matter which vaccine won first: Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson
Learn about the Novavax vaccine here.
Updated mRNA boosters (from Pfizer and Moderna) are legal through the FDA for adults who have passed at least two months since their last vaccine dose, either a booster or a number one series. It doesn’t matter which vaccine you originally received, and it doesn’t matter which logo you choose now. Moderna’s new booster, like its previous vaccine, has a higher dose (50 micrograms) than Pfizer’s (30 micrograms).
For infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who are eligible for smaller doses of updated formulas, it’s a little different. Children 6 months to five years of age who have won the number one series of Moderna cannot get an updated vaccine. dose of Moderna until at least two months after your injection at the moment. Children 6 months through four years of age who have started the number one Pfizer series are likely to get the bivalent vaccine as the third dose, rather than the “original” third dose. Children at this age, the organization that has already won 3 doses of Pfizer is not eligible for an updated booster at this time.
If you are 18 or older and were vaccinated earlier in the pandemic but have not yet gained a booster, you can get vaccinated with Novavax at least six months after completing your number one series if you prefer to an mRNA vaccine.
If you are sixty or older, or even if you are fifty, the recommendation of medical experts is clear: get the updated reminder as soon as possible. Older adults are more vulnerable to severe illness and death from COVID-19. If you’re younger and have a condition that makes you more vulnerable to serious illnesses, such as diabetes, core disease, etc. , you may also benefit from increased coverage for serious illnesses.
Health officials encouraged everyone to update their boosters, and Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s legal formulas for children as young as 5 (in recent months, not last year) aren’t as straightforward as for high-risk adults or others who are several months old. far from his last episode of COVID-19.
At a meeting of the CDC’s clinical advisory panel, a committee that meets before the CDC recommends a vaccine, some members expressed fear that other people would be better off waiting more than two months between their last shot and this new booster, especially others who have recently had COVID-19 and still have superior immunity. (In its general rules about vaccines, the CDC states that other people can wait 3 months before getting vaccinated if they outgrow COVID-19. )
And myocarditis is rare worldwide, younger men and adolescents seem to be at higher risk after vaccination and waiting longer between vaccine doses reduces this threat.
From an immune reaction perspective, some infectious disease doctors have advised waiting 4 to 6 months between your last COVID-19 infection or vaccine to get the most out of the new booster. Fauci told PBS that if you recently tested positive for COVID-19, “wait about 3 months, at least 3 months from the time you had a previous infection” before receiving the new reminder. Fauci added that because he had COVID-19 in mid to last June, he was waiting until the end of September to be boosted.
Fauci ended up getting his encore on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in early October.
But individual immunity is only one piece of the puzzle, when it comes to a respiratory virus as contagious as COVID-19. People who only have very mild symptoms of being bloodless or allergic can still transmit an infection to their maximum vulnerability. circle of family or friends. And as other people plan their holidays and the new year approaches, this becomes an especially vital detail for Array.
“Even if you’re on the low-risk side yourself, you’ll have a circle of family and friends you’ll see,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, coordinator of the White House COVID-19 response team. on Andy Slavitt’s podcast in October, as reported via CNBC.
“You don’t have to be the user who provides it to your grandmother. “
Dr. Jayne Morgan, executive director of Piedmont Healthcare’s COVID Task Force and author of a medical YouTube channel, said it’s vital to get a reminder now so we can “stem the tide” of the pandemic.
“You need to have this booster while omicron is circulating. The goal of releasing the booster now is that we can avoid chasing this variant,” Morgan said, adding that it’s unclear what variants or subvariants there will be in our future, and whether (or to what extent) they will escape our coverage from vaccines, infections and treatments.
Vaccines and boosters have been shown to be especially effective in preventing serious illness in the elderly. An Oct. 7 report from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Seniors and others enrolled in Medicare in 2021. More than 81% of COVID-19 deaths occur in others over age 65, according to the CDC.
BQ. 1 and BQ. 1. 1 are now the maximum non-unusual subvariants causing COVID-19 infections and account for more than a portion of existing cases. BA. 5 is responsible for about 30% of existing COVID-19 cases, according to CDC estimates.
Like BA. 5, the “Q” subvariants are still considered versions of omicron, and none have been given a separate label of “variant of concern,” a separate designation researchers give to variants that have a much more contagious, severe or fitness tools for public disorders, such as vaccines or antivirals. are particularly less effective.
While scientists expected new mutations as the virus continues to spread and evolve, it’s possibly too early to say how new versions of COVID-19 will play out in the United States. Moderna said earlier in November that its initial analyses showed its bivalent vaccine produced an antibody reaction opposite to BQ. 1. 1, a weaker reaction compared to BA. 5.
Morgan says that by allowing COVID-19 infections to occur, we are allowing the virus to invade our bodies and mutate into new variants, many of which have been more contagious than previous versions and have more hospitalizations and deaths.
“Whether they become something or nothing, the fact is that they continue to give us evidence that these variants will continue to grow if we keep making them infect us,” Morgan said. “Humans are the key component of the life cycle of this virus. “
Reminders and public fitness measures, such as wearing a mask, are tactics to avoid participating in the virus’ life cycle and disappearing, Morgan says.
You can use the Vaccines. gov vaccine search site to find an up-to-date vaccine near you. When opting for your upgraded booster from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, be sure to choose the snapshot that says “Newly Authorized Bivalent. “” in ambitious text. Vaccines in the primary series, or the first two doses, are still available to others who have not yet received a vaccine.
Smaller doses of the original vaccines are also available for children up to 6 months of age. For those who get the Novavax booster, you can place it under “Primary Vaccines”.
Yes, according to CDC. Il, there is no waiting era between seasonal flu vaccine and COVID-19 vaccines.
To date, the existing flu season has been the most severe since the 2010-2011 flu season.