If wild card COVID variant comes…: Fauci on how vaccination programmes will shape out in future
Covid vaccinations will likely shift to an annual shot, officials said adding, more frequent doses will be offered for higher-risk people
Covid-19 vaccines will eventually become an annual vaccination event like flu shots, Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s health adviser said at a time when administration is urging Americans to take newly authorized booster shots specific to omicron subvariants.
Anthony Fauci, a Biden Covid adviser who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, “We likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine."
Covid vaccinations will likely shift to an annual shot, officials said adding, more frequent doses will be offered for higher-risk people.
Fauci cautioned that a sharp change in the virus could alter the interval at which doses are deployed.
“If a wild card variant comes in, all bets are off," Fauci said, referring to the protection currently offered by the modified vaccines produced by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc.
Ashish Jha, who serves as Biden’s Covid czar, said officials expect people to get boosters throughout the fall, including in routine doctor visits or at the same time as receiving a flu shot. The modified boosters will be widely available by the end of this week.
Jha called on Congress to allocate new funding to continue the availability of vaccines and treatments to fight the virus. “It is now critical that you step up and provide additional Covid-19 funding so that we can stay ahead of this virus," Jha said.
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