Everyone aged 6 months and older should receive an updated Covid-19 vaccine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended on Tuesday (12), to help reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, or death from the coronavirus.
The agency stated in a press release that Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shots will be available this week.
“Vaccination continues to be the best protection against COVID-19-related hospitalization and death,” the agency said. “Vaccination also reduces the chance of suffering long-term effects of COVID, which can develop during or after an infection. If you have not received a COVID-19 vaccine in the last 2 months, get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect yourself this fall and winter.”
The CDC’s endorsement means that the vaccines will be covered by public and private health plans.
The new vaccines have been updated to combat the viruses currently circulating that cause Covid-19.
The latest CDC data shows that Covid-19 hospitalizations increased by 9% last week compared to the previous week. Despite the increase, hospitalizations still represent about half of what they were during last winter’s peak. Weekly deaths from Covid-19 also rose in August.
The highest rates of hospitalizations and deaths occur among the very elderly and very young: adults over 75 years old and children under 6 months. All other groups face a lower risk of severe outcomes.
Source: CNN