The Food and Drug Administration could approve new COVID-19 booster shots any day now, as part of a trio of vaccines slated to be released with the goal of avoiding a "tripledemic" of COVID, RSV and influenza during the fall and winter.
Citing sources, NBC News reported on Thursday that the FDA could greenlight updated versions of boosters as soon as Friday, but said the timeline for authorization could potentially slide into next week.
After the FDA’s signoff, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its advisory committee will issue their own recommendations about who should get the shots and how they should be used. The agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is expected to vote at a scheduled meeting Tuesday. The CDC’s director, Dr. Mandy Cohen, could sign off on the boosters shortly after the meeting, allowing vaccinations to start immediately.
While guidance is expected soon, COVID is rising in many locations, including Illinois, leading many to wonder if they should take action sooner than later.
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The question begs, if you're not up-to-date on your vaccinations, should you wait until the new shots are released or get what is currently available?
Dr. Allison Arwady, who was relieved of her duties as the Chicago Department of Public Health's commissioner last month, previously discussed COVID vaccine boosters in a wide-ranging interview with NBC Chicago, and she urged Illinoisans to consider holding off on getting shots.
“You should wait. We anticipate a new vaccine will be available in late September or early October," she said in August. "That is going to be an update. That will be the newest version to help fight off omicron, the type of omicron subvariants we’re seeing more recently."
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Illinois Department of Public Health officials last month said that new guidance was forthcoming, and explained that a specific change in formulation will lead to updated standards.
“The FDA has directed drug manufacturers to develop a new monovalent COVID-19 booster that targets the dominant XBB.1.5 strain of the virus,” officials said.
Currently, COVID booster shots and initial doses are formulated as “bivalent” vaccines, meaning they offer protection both against the original strain of COVID that impacted the U.S. in 2020, and the Omicron variants known as BA.4 and BA.5, which were the most-recent dominant strains of the virus.
The new monovalent vaccine doses will specifically target the XBB.1.5 strain, the latest dominant strain to impact the U.S., according to officials.
As for current guidance for COVID vaccinations, anyone six months or older is encouraged to get a COVID vaccination. Those who are completely unvaccinated are urged to get a total of three doses of either the Moderna or the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, with four weeks between each dose.
Anyone who has received their initial doses is recommended to get a bivalent booster dose of the vaccine, while those who are immunocompromised could potentially get a second booster if their doctor recommends it.
If you need information on your COVID vaccination history, you can visit Vax Verify through the IDPH, and you will receive that information.
