DETROIT – The Food and Drug Administration could give the green light for new COVID boosters as soon as Friday.
The updated shots come as confirmed cases of the virus continue to tick up across the country.
While the pandemic was officially declared over, the virus never went away. We’ve moved away from mandates toward more common sense recommendations, but most health officials expect COVID cases to continue to climb into the fall and winter.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, the new head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wants Americans to be prepared for that.
“Look, COVID is here with us. We are going to have to continue to live with it,” Cohen said.
COVID-related hospitalizations are up 15.7% in the last week and COVID-related deaths are up 17.6%. Both have been trending up since July.
The CDC has four steps to fight the virus this fall: Advising people to stay up-to-date with COVID vaccines, to improve indoor ventilation, to test yourself as needed and to stay home when you’re sick.
“As long as we use these layers of tools, I think we are in a better position than we have been before,” Cohen said.
The elderly and people with underlying health conditions may want to consider wearing a mask indoors, particularly in crowds.
“I’m not talking about mandating anything. I’m talking about good common sense and following the recommendations that we will likely get from the CDC as we proceed into the fall,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The CDC is also encouraging Americans to get a flu shot this fall. Its new ad campaign stresses the flu vaccine can turn the flu from “wild to mild.”
Once the FDA approves the new COVID boosters, the CDC’s advisory panel will meet to recommend who should get the shots. They have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday and the CDC director is expected to sign off on the plan shortly after that.
This time around, the vaccines are not paid for by the federal government. Most health insurance will cover it, but for those without insurance, the shots could cost about $120.