The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all Americans six months and older receive at least one dose of the latest Covid shots, the last of a trifecta of vaccines intended to prevent another surge in respiratory infections this winter.
Vaccines against flu and the respiratory syncytial virus are already on the shelves – the flu jab also recommended for people six months and older, and the RSV shot for those over 60.
In a meeting last week, some advisers to the CDC expressed misgivings about recommending the new Covid vaccines to younger adults, and about potential side effects, especially in children and young males, reports The Washington Post.
Others worried that endorsing the vaccines for all Americans might undermine messaging about the greater need among those at highest risk from Covid, including older adults.
But the committee ultimately voted to endorse the new vaccines for everyone, citing data showing the short- and long-term risks of Covid at any age.
“It’s clear that vaccination will prevent serious illness and death across all age groups,” said Dr Beth Bell, a professor of global health at the University of Washington.
The panel made recommendations only regarding the updated, recently approved, Covid vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna.
The timing and number of recommended doses varies with age and prior immunisations, but most people should receive at least one shot, the scientists said.
The guidelines will be extended to include another vaccine by Novavax and any others authorised by the FDA in the coming months. That shot may serve as a suitable alternative for people who cannot receive mRNA vaccines like Pfizer’s and Moderna’s.
The vaccines cannot come soon enough. Hospital admissions and deaths associated with Covid have been steadily rising since July, although the numbers are still low compared with the same period in other recent years.
Many others now view Covid as only a mild threat. Fewer than half of adults older than 65, and just about one in five American adults overall, opted for the bivalent booster shot offered last year. (The new shots replace the bivalent booster, which should no longer be used, the CDC said.)
The most vulnerable Americans – older adults, immunocompromised people and pregnant women – ought to receive both the Covid and the flu vaccines, experts said. People aged 65 and older have accounted for up to 85% of flu-related deaths in recent years, according to the CDC.
Covid hospitalisations among senior citizen (75 and older) “are consistently two to three times as high as those in the next youngest age group of 65 to 74”, showed data presented by Dr Fiona Havers, who leads the CDC’s surveillance programmes for respiratory disease-associated hospitalisations.
The new vaccines are designed to target the Omicron variant XBB.1.5, which was the dominant virus earlier this year, when health officials were forced to decide on the composition of an upcoming winter vaccine.
XBB.1.5 now accounts for only 3% of cases, but more than 90% of the circulating variants are its close relatives. The new vaccines appear to be effective against all of them.
People with so-called hybrid immunity – from both infection and immunisation – have the strongest protection. But immunity of all types wanes over time, according to data presented at the meeting.
Even among the relatively young and healthy, Covid poses serious health risks, including long-term effects on the heart and other organs that can emerge and re-emerge months to years after the initial illness, said Sharon Saydah, a CDC researcher.
Saydah presented preliminary estimates from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey that indicated that the highest prevalence of post-Covid symptoms occurs among adults aged 35 to 49: 9% reported health problems at least three months after the first acute illness.
The percentages of those reporting ongoing symptoms decreases over time, and are lower with the Omicron variant than with previous versions of the virus.
The New York Times article – CDC recommends new Covid vaccines for all Americans (Restricted access)
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