FDA Announces New COVID-19 Vaccine: What You Need to Know Before You Get the Updated Shot
Trigger warning: The following content includes depictions of vaccination via needle. Please be advised.
After a surge in COVID-19 cases during the summer of 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Thursday, August 22, that it would be releasing a new vaccine from Pfizer, Novavax and Moderna to help fight the outbreaks. This marks the third time the FDA has released a new variant of the vaccine since announcing the original two-dose shot in late 2020.
The vaccines are set to ship to pharmacies nationwide within the next couple of days as of publication, and will be available to everyone regardless of income and medical insurance status. The update comes ahead of respiratory virus season, as the fall 2024 will likely see an increase of COVID cases due to the colder weather and inside activities.
“Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” said the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., in the FDA’s official release statement after the summer wave of cases. “These updated vaccines meet the agency’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”
Like before, the new COVID-19 vaccine will consist of one shot and will be available wherever vaccines are distributed.
When can you get the new COVID-19 vaccination?
Whenever your local pharmacy receives its shipment of the new vaccination, you are eligible to get one.
Unlike previous rollouts of the shot, there are no phases, and everyone – regardless of age or current health condition – is eligible to get vaccinated immediately.
The amount of doses, according to the FDA, varies, though. Their official list is below:
Unvaccinated children ages 6 months and older but younger than 4 can receive three doses.
Vaccinated children between the ages of 6 months to 4 years old can receive one to two doses depending on when their last COVID-19 vaccine was.
Unvaccinated and vaccinated children between the ages of 5 to 11 can only receive one dose. Their previous vaccination history doesn’t matter.
Everyone above the age of 12 is also eligible for one dose of the new COVID-19 vaccine if it is two months after their previous shot.
They also warn that after receiving your vaccine, you might experience mild symptoms that mirror the side effects previously experienced from the shot. However, it does not matter which company — Pfizer, Novavax and Moderna — produced your previous shot, as they are interchangeable at this point.
Can you get the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu shot together?
Last fall, people across the United States received a COVID-19 vaccine and a flu shot at the same time. As of June 27, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assures that it is still safe to do so and said, “To protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 this fall and winter whether they have ever previously been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine. Updated COVID-19 vaccines will be available from Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer later this year.”
The CDC does recommend, though, “Adults (especially those 65 years old and older) and pregnant people in the first and second trimester, vaccination in July and August should be avoided unless it won’t be possible to vaccinate in September or October.”
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