What you should know
- The federal government approved COVID-19 booster shots for all Americans on Wednesday amid a surge in the delta variant that has led to increased new cases and hospitalization rates across the United States.
- Upon approval, New York residents could be receiving the third dose no earlier than September, and healthcare workers, nursing home residents and the elderly are likely to be among the earliest recipients.
- Residents will be able to receive their third vaccinations in hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, as well as other places in the city, mobile options and through home vaccination programs.
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Federal health authorities recommend an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for all fully vaccinated Americans, and New York is already making preparations to begin administering it.
On Wednesday, US health authorities announced that they have approved the administration of an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for all Americans eight months after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. This to obtain a more durable protection against the coronavirus and as the delta variant spreads throughout the country.
The move is driven by both the highly contagious variant and preliminary evidence suggesting that the vaccine’s protection against serious illness declined among those vaccinated in January.
In a joint statement, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, and medical experts announced plans, pending formal FDA approval of a third dose, to begin. to administer booster injections starting the week of September 20.
However, New York anda this week approved a third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine for two-dose recipients with a weak immune system, allowing them to receive their r vaccineexertion 28 days after receiving your second dose.
The same protections for the rest of the population are expected to come eight months after receiving their second injection, and healthcare workers, nursing home residents and other seniors are likely to be among the first to receive them.
New York City Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said Tuesday that the city has been preparing for the possibility of a booster shot for some time and that local officials are awaiting federal guidance before solidifying their plans. .
“We need the federal government to issue its official guidance, particularly the FDA clearance. And that will likely require all the science to be vetted and go through the official process before booster doses are formally recommended,” Chokishi said.
Once approved, New Yorkers can expect booster doses no earlier than September.
Residents could receive their third vaccines at hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, as well as elsewhere in the city, mobile options, and through home vaccination programs.
It is not yet known whether people should receive the same type of vaccine that they received when they were first vaccinated. The nation’s top health advisers will look for evidence on the safety of the booster and how well it protects against serious infections and diseases.
For now, only the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been licensed for booster doses and people with the following conditions already qualify:
- You have been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood.
- You received an organ transplant and are taking medications to suppress your immune system.
- You received a stem cell transplant in the past 2 years or are taking medications to suppress the immune system.
- Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome).
- Advanced or untreated HIV infection.
- Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids, chemotherapy against cancer that causes severe immunosuppression, or other drugs that can suppress your immune response.
The push to shore up protection comes as unvaccinated people fuel the rampant spread of the delta variant locally and nationally, leading to increases in cases, hospitalizations and deaths across the board.
Almost 85% of all US counties, including the five that make up New York City, are now considered “high transmission rate” areas by the CDC, with new case rates of at least 100 percent. every 100,000 residents per day. More than 9.6% are considered “substantial transmission” areas. Both classifications trigger a universal indoor mask recommendation by the CDC regardless of vaccination status.
The TSA extended its mandate for travel masks until 2022 on Wednesday. Although no governor of the three states has reinstated the rule, the use of masks indoors is recommended, regardless of vaccination status. New York City also introduced its new vaccine testing mandate for gyms, theaters and restaurants earlier this week.
Delta now accounts for 90% of all COVID-positive samples sequenced in the city over the last four-week period, reaching the most prevalent strain within a matter of a few months after dominating the US earlier this year. Nationally, delta accounts for at least 86% of all COVID-positive samples tested, according to the CDC.
The seven-day moving average of daily new cases in New York has risen in the past two weeks from more than 2,400 new cases per day to nearly 4,200, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. New York City averaged 2,000 new coronavirus cases per day for the past seven days, up from about 200 per day in late June.
The daily positivity rate is approaching 4 percent (3.94%), while COVID hospitalizations statewide are 1,813, the highest total since mid-May and a 130% increase since August 1 alone. .
Hand washing, physical distancing and the use of masks indoors can slow the spread of the virus, but the COVID-19 vaccine is the only tool that will prevent serious illness and death. Unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to die from the coronavirus, Chokshi said, urging more New Yorkers to get their first vaccine.
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