New COVID vaccines are here: here’s what’s different this time
New COVID vaccines, better suited to fighting the virus, will soon be rolled out, after the US Food and Drug Administration signed about the recordings on Thursday.
The new vaccines are made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already recommended the updated COVID vaccines for everyone 6 months and older, along with an updated seasonal flu vaccine, so people will soon be able to get one as soon as it hits the shelves in pharmacies, as long as it has been at least two months since their last shot.
By summer 2024, COVID numbers have been “very high” wastewater data from the CDC. Part of the summer peak problem may be related to the waning immunity of people from previous vaccines and infections (along with the recurring new and contagious versions of omicron). The availability of updated vaccines is expected to be a useful tool in staving off serious illness as we enter the colder months and the season of respiratory infections.
Now that COVID has gone from pandemic to endemic (meaning COVID is still making people sick, but in more predictable ways that can be mitigated by available treatments), officials at the CDC have streamlined guidelines around vaccines and isolation to make it easier for everyone to follow when they have symptoms of a respiratory virus. Here’s what you need to know.
When will the new COVID vaccines be available? How much will they cost?
Probably in the coming days. The CDC recommended as a preventive measure shots from Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax earlier this summer, and now that Moderna and Pfizer have both been officially approved by the FDA, it’s just a matter of when pharmacies will receive them. The updated vaccines from both mRNA companies target KP.2, which, compared to the strain targeted in last year’s shots, more closely resembles the versions of the virus currently making people sick.
The FDA has not yet approved Novavax’s new vaccine, but another option is expected later this year.
One change this time around is that the cost of COVID vaccines will no longer be covered by the federal government, even though both COVID and flu vaccines should be covered by people’s insurance, including MedicareThe Bridge Access Program offered free COVID vaccines to people without health insurance, although it scheduled to end this month. While new measures will be needed to keep COVID vaccines free for adults, a separate program is in place to vaccines free for all children.
What should I do if I test positive for COVID?
The CDC’s new general guideline focuses on what to do if you have symptoms of a respiratory virus or feeling sick, rather than the results of a COVID test. But because treatment depends on which virus you have, it’s always best to get a COVID test if you’re able to.
If you are at higher risk for a respiratory virus, including complications from COVID, influenza, or RSV, it is especially important to figure out which virus you have (by getting tested and seeking medical attention) so that you can get the right treatment, as treatment varies depending on the virus you are infected with.
If you are an adult aged 50 or over, or if you have a chronic condition such as heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes or something else, You may be eligible for an antiviral medication (including Paxlovid) that reduces the severity of the illness and lowers your risk of hospitalization. You can get it by calling your regular doctor or pharmacist or by finding a Test to Treat centerwhere people with Medicare or Medicaid, the uninsured, and people with VA insurance or people receiving Indian Health Services can get free COVID-19 testing and treatment. It is important that you start taking the antiviral within the first few days of symptoms to make the medicine work.
For anyone who has COVID, or suspects they may have it, the CDC recommends following general guidelines for preventing the spread of respiratory viruses if you are sick. This includes stay home and stay away from others when you feel sick, regardless of whether you get tested.
You can “return to your normal activities,” the CDC says, as long as it has been 24 hours since your symptoms generally improved and as long as it has been 24 hours since you had a fever (and you have not taken fever-reducing medications, such as ibuprofen). Then, take extra precautions for five days after you improve, which may mean wearing a mask or avoiding people who are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID or other respiratory viruses.
This is a change from pandemic-era guidelines, which were more specific about when and how long you should isolate after exposure to COVID-19 or a positive test result. Why is that?
“This is an endemic virus for which there are many population immunity and medical countermeasures,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said in an email. “Guidelines need to reflect that context and be designed in a way that people can use with relative ease.”
