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What's Going on With Fall COVID and Flu Shots?
By this time of year, both the FDA and CDC normally have weighed in on fall respiratory virus vaccine recommendations. But given ongoing controversies over vaccination spurred by the Trump administration, a wrench has once again been thrown into the gears of that process.
The FDA has done its part, making recommendations about vaccine composition for influenza vaccines in March, followed by recommendations for COVID shots in May. But the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) hasn't done its part as it hasn't held its March or June meetings this year.
Typically, after the FDA meets, ACIP "then meets and makes recommendations about how to use those vaccines," David Freedman, MD, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), told Medpage Today.
Will flu, COVID-19 vaccines be available this fall?
As fall nears and the respiratory illness season begins, many people are wondering if they’ll be able to receive updated flu and COVID-19 vaccines amid the turmoil created by the federal government about vaccines. Some worry that recent changes could mean they have to pay out of pocket for their annual doses.
But experts say Americans don’t have to worry about vaccine coverage—this year, at least.
“There will be available an updated influenza vaccine and an updated COVID vaccine. So far, that’s pretty normal,” William Schaffner, MD, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt Health and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), told CIDRAP News. “Insurers, that is, the medical insurance industry, have said that they would cover those vaccines.”
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With no CDC vaccine advisory committee, will there be Covid shots this fall?
This spring, the federal machinery to get updated Covid shots ready for the fall appeared to be on track: A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee had taken the first step to prepare for the new shots, selecting the latest strains to target. The agency accepted the panel’s recommendations and passed the message along to vaccine makers.
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