By Aria Bendix -
NBC News
The federal government provides that every year you have to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as is the case with the flu, and with a similar schedule, with a new injection before winter arrives.
“In the absence of dramatically different variants, we are likely moving toward a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine, with COVID-19 vaccines tailored each year to protect against strains that currently exist. they circulate among the majority of the population,” explained Anthony Fauci, the White House’s top medical expert in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
Scott Olson/Getty Images file via NBC News
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After obtaining approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week, the booster doses of the vaccine from the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna adapted for the BA.4 and BA.5 of omicron, the most common since December in the country.
More than 88% of the new cases in the United States correspond to the BA.5 subvariant, and 11% to BA.4, according to the director of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, during the press conference.
These vaccines provide better immunization against infection and transmission of the virus, as well as longer-lasting protection against a serious case of illness, explained Ashish Jha, White House coordinator for the response against COVID-19.
"For the first time since December 2020, these vaccines, our vaccines, have caught up with the virus," Jha said.
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Aug. 31, 202201:58
"Unless a radically different new variant emerges, for the vast majority of Americans we are reaching a point where a single annual dose against COVID-19 would offer a high degree of protection against severe cases of illness," he said.
The CDC recommends that all adolescents and adults receive the tailored booster dose at least two months after their last COVID-19 injection.
But people in frail health may need more than one annual booster, Fauci said.
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"If people keep up with their vaccination schedule, if people get treatment in case of an infection, we will make deaths more and more rare," Jha said.
The United States is still reporting a weekly average of 450 deaths from COVID-19, according to data from our sister network NBC News.
