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CDC Advisers Back Broad Rollout Of New COVID Boosters
New COVID-19 vaccines received the backing of a panel of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday. The shots will be available across the country later this week.
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Mario Tama
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A panel of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backed the broad use of new COVID-19 vaccines, as cases of the respiratory illness rise.
The advisers voted 13-1 to recommend the vaccines for people ages 6 months and older. While the benefits appear to be greatest for the oldest and youngest people, the benefits of vaccination exceed the risks for everyone, according to a CDC analysis.
The universal recommendation, as opposed to one that applies to selected groups, could ease the rollout of the vaccine and improve access and equity.
"Let's keep America strong, healthy," said Dr. Camille Kotton, a panel member who voted in favor of the recommendation and who is an infectious disease specialist at Harvard Medical School. "Let's do away with COVID-19 as best we can by prevention of disease through vaccines. Let's make things clear."
The Food and Drug Administration gave the go-ahead to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Monday. A new vaccine from Novavax is under FDA review and may be approved soon.
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The new vaccines target a much more recent variant of the omicron strain called XBB.1.5 that was selected by the FDA in June for use in formulating new vaccines. The idea, akin to how flu vaccines are made, is to match a seasonal vaccine to the virus that is infecting people.
L.A. County’s COVID Snapshot (as of Sep. 7, 2023)
L.A. County’s COVID indicators continue to trend up.
- About 570 people test positive daily, an undercount due to at-home testing.
- The amount of coronavirus in L.A. County wastewater has more than doubled since early July, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health. It’s now at 29% of last winter’s peak amount.
- Almost 560 people are hospitalized on average each day in the county with COVID, up from 330 in mid-August. About 5% of emergency room visits are due to COVID.
- Outbreaks in schools are up. There was a 43% increase at L.A. County schools, with 33 newly opened school outbreaks last week, up from 23 the prior week.
- More people are contracting COVID at work. In August, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health investigated 73 outbreaks in workplaces — nearly three times higher than the month before.
COVID still kills one person each day in L.A. County.
Only 19% of people eligible for the last booster in L.A. County got one.
Since the FDA's decision, other variants have overtaken XBB.1.5, but laboratory data suggest the new vaccines should provide good protection against COVID-19, including serious illness, hospitalization and death. The new shots can bolster immunity from previous vaccinations and COVID illness.
The last step before vaccination with the new shots can start is a formal decision by the CDC director. The decision is expected to quickly follow the panel's vote.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org.
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