The U.S. approved updated COVID-19 vaccines Monday, hoping to rev up protection against the latest coronavirus strains and blunt any surge this fall and winter.
The Food and Drug Administration decision opens the newest shots from Moderna and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to most Americans even if they’ve never had a coronavirus vaccination. It’s part of a shift to treat fall updates of the COVID-19 vaccine much like getting a yearly flu shot.
There’s still another step: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must sign off. A CDC advisory panel is set to issue recommendations Tuesday on who most needs the updated shots. Vaccinations could begin later this week, and both the COVID-19 and flu shot can be given at the same visit.
A third vaccine maker, Novavax, said its updated shot is still being reviewed by the FDA.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have been rising since late summer although –- thanks to lasting immunity from prior vaccinations and infections –- not nearly as much as this time last year.
But protection wanes over time and the coronavirus continually churns out new variants that can dodge prior immunity. It’s been a year since the last time the vaccines were tweaked, and only about 20% of adults ever received that earlier update.
“Vaccination remains critical to public health and continued protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said in a statement. “We very much encourage those who are eligible to consider getting vaccinated.”
Just like earlier vaccinations, the fall round is cleared for adults and children as young as age 6 months. FDA said starting at age 5, most people can get a single dose even if they’ve never had a prior COVID-19 shot. Younger children might need additional doses depending on their history of COVID-19 infections and vaccinations.
Despite the availability of vaccines and boosters, COVID-19 cases are rising nationwide this summer. Christopher Sadowski
In May, the COVID-19 emergency was officially declared over — but the coronavirus is still a significant concern, according to some in the medical community.
The latest data from the New York state Department of Health, released Aug. 2, shows that COVID cases spiked by 55% since the prior week, with an average of 824 reported cases per day across the state.
And hospital admissions for the disease increased by 22% compared to the previous week, which translates to more than 100 admissions a day.
Meanwhile, a new variant — dubbed EG.5, or eris — has arisen as the dominant strain, causing about 17% of COVID cases nationwide, according to a new alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the NYC health commissioner, has said “the good news is that we’re not seeing anything in the virus that suggests it’s getting more transmissible or more lethal. What this really is, is just waning immunity … This is part of living with COVID and these fluctuations are to be expected.”
The latest data from the New York state Department of Health. NY PostDespite the availability of vaccines and boosters, COVID-19 cases are rising nationwide this summer. Christopher Sadowski
The rise in COVID-19 cases isn’t limited to New York: The CDC recorded 8,000 US hospital admissions for COVID-19 in the week ending July 22, a 12% increase from the week before.
CDC data also shows that each year since the pandemic began in 2020, an annual winter spike in cases — such as when the omicron variant caused a leap in infections in the winter of 2021-22 — is followed by a smaller increase in the middle of the summer.
“The most frightening thing to me is, we don’t know where that [omicron] variant came from,” Bershteyn said, adding that an even deadlier variant could arise without warning.
“That event could happen anytime,” she added. “That thought sends chills down my spine.”
As new variants continue to appear, health experts are concerned that we’re not prepared — especially for a worst-case scenario.
“The most frightening thing is if the virus was more deadly,” Anna Bershteyn, assistant professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU’s medical school, told The Post.
“That’s really scary,” Bershteyn added, “if a virus had the transmissibility of COVID and was as deadly as the MERS coronavirus,” referring to Middle East respiratory syndrome, a disease with a fatality rate of over 30%.
Lack of testing frustrates health experts
Even as cases increase and people gather for summer travel, popular movies and other events, tests for COVID-19 aren’t as readily available as they once were.
Despite a rise in COVID-19 cases, testing and test kits are in short supply. REUTERS
In June, the Biden administration stopped mailing out free test kits, and the ones people stockpiled over the past year or two are either expired or will be soon.
Without testing, “it will be hard for people to know if what they have is COVID,” Bershteyn said.
Because of the availability of the antiviral Paxlovid, “we actually have no supply problems” when it comes to treating cases of COVID-19, Bershteyn added. “Testing is really the key way to take advantage of these medications.”
And even though the number of COVID-19 deaths has dropped, “1 out of every 100 deaths is still something,” Bershteyn noted, referring to the CDC’s estimate that 1% of US deaths are due to the disease.
Moreover, many health insurance plans stopped paying for over-the-counter test kits once the requirement to do so ended when the emergency declaration was lifted.
The lack of available test kits could add to a rise in COVID hospitalizations and deaths, say health experts.
“We are going to continue to see people hospitalized for COVID … that could have been prevented had testing been freely and widely available,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, told the Washington Post.
