Posted on 09/06/22
| News Source: i24
'We likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to the annual influenza vaccine'
Barring the emergence of drastically different variants, Covid boosters will likely be recommended annually in a similar manner to influenza vaccines, US health officials said Tuesday.
The announcement came after the Food and Drug Administration last week authorized updated bivalent shots against both the original strain of the coronavirus and the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the omicron variant, which are predominant.
"We likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine, with annual updated Covid shots matched to the currently circulating strains," US President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci told reporters.
However, the elderly and immunocompromised may require more frequent shots – and the annual strategy would have to be reviewed in case of a "curveball" such as a dangerous new variant that differs dramatically from predictions.