WASHINGTON — The US regulatory body approved the vaccines updated against the COVID-19designed to more accurately deal with recent strains of the virus and, hopefully, any other variants that cause problems this winter.
With Food and Drug Administration authorization, Pfizer and Moderna will begin distributing millions of doses. Novavax, a third U.S. manufacturer, expects its modified version of the vaccine to be available shortly after.
“We strongly urge eligible individuals to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks.
The agency’s decision came slightly ahead of last year’s rollout of updated COVID-19 vaccines as much of the country is currently in the midst of a summer surge of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already recommended that everyone six months of age and older get vaccinated this summer. Vaccines could be available within days.
Vaccine Update
While most Americans have some degree of immunity from previous infections, vaccines or both, that protection is waning. Last fall’s vaccines targeted a different part of the coronavirus family tree — a strain that is no longer circulating — and CDC data shows only about 22.5% of adults and 14% of children have received them.
Skipping the new vaccine is “risky behavior” because even if a person’s last infection was mild, the next one could be worse or leave long-term COVID symptoms, said Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr. of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
FUENTE: AP
