"Americans to Require Annual COVID-19 Shots, According to Biden Administration"
This week signifies a significant shift in our battle against the virus, stated Dr. Ashish Jha, leading the Covid-19 Response Team at the White House. "This marks a sign of our ability to make Covid-19 vaccines a routine part of our lives, while we continue to reduce severe illnesses and deaths, and protect Americans at the beginning of the fall and winter," he said.
While Tuesday's announcement was not entirely surprising – the Biden administration had pointed towards this shift since the spring – it is an important move as the government begins to scale back its Covid-19 response.
Newly approved, updated Covid-19 boosters will be free for eligible individuals who require them, declared Jha, but future vaccines and treatments may not be as they work towards moving resources towards commercial markets.
Experts argue that this shift towards annual vaccinations indicates that Covid-19 is not going away.
"Our great-grandchildren will receive Covid-19 shots," said Dr. Gregory Polish, Director of the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group. "Just like you and I, when we receive our annual flu shot, one of the components we receive is the pandemic flu virus of 1918, against which we still vaccinate a century later."
Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, suggested that this could be the ideal time to transition to annual refreshment vaccinations, as we can answer critical questions such as how effective the updated vaccines will be.
"What vaccine will you get next year?" he tweeted. "What global monitoring mechanisms must be implemented to detect early variants?"
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stated that he expects annual vaccinations against Covid-19 to begin this fall, but individuals with weakened immune systems may require more frequent protection.
"If there are no distinctly different variants, we may steer towards a vaccine schedule akin to the annual flu vaccine, with annually updated Covid-19 vaccines to match the prevalent strains in various populations," he explained.
Fauci added that the newest booster will continue to protect Americans as long as the Coronavirus continues to evolve and diverge from the currently circulating BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
He conceded that the plans for annual vaccinations may need to be revised if the Coronavirus makes a significant evolutionary leap, as observed during the holiday season when the Omicron variant surfaced.
"We have little recourse unless we know that we have a vaccine platform that can handle this problem quickly," said Fauci.
However, he emphasized that the revised booster shot, assuming no significant mutations in the virus, should also provide protection for the following year and can be consistently updated.
The official announcement on Tuesday also signifies a change in the communication strategy regarding Covid-19 prevention.
"The biggest problem with vaccines today is that people are not taking them," said Dr. Robert Wachter, Chair of the Medicine Department at the University of California, San Francisco.
According to CDC data, less than one-third of Americans aged 5 years and older have received a booster shot.
Wachter stated that the White House and CDC had hoped that the announcement would encourage more individuals by addressing their uncertainty about when to receive their next shot.
Wachter believes that this move represents a clever rebranding and a fresh perspective.
"It's a very smart move to rebrand and think anew," he said.
During Tuesday's press conference, Jha urged individuals aged 12 and older to utilize the updated refreshment vaccines and stated that this was the first time the country had a vaccine aligned with the currently circulating variants.
He also suggested that individuals receive their Covid-19 vaccine and flu shot simultaneously.
"I honestly believe that God has given us two arms, one for the flu shot and one for the Covid-19 vaccine," Jha joked.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that the benefits of a timely Covid-19 vaccine are obvious.
BA.5 and BA.4 are the most commonly spread Covid-19 variants, she said. While hospital admissions have decreased by 14% over the past week, more deaths than during the spring are now being reported.
"The seven-day average of daily deaths is still too high – approximately 375 per day, in my opinion far beyond the 200 daily deaths reported during the spring," Walensky said, stressing that this rate is unacceptably high. "Fauci's message to Americans: Get the newest Covid-19 vaccine as soon as you’re eligible, to protect yourself, your family, and your community this fall and winter."
