Health officials have approved a new set of coronavirus medicines that should be available to all Americans over the age of six months this week.
President Biden gave his strong support for the new vaccines in a message from the White House. He said that the news was “another significant milestone” in the “fight to defeat the virus.”
AP says that advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agreed that the new shots are a good idea, and the head of the CDC agreed with the panel’s decision.
UPI reports that the new Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are part of a plan that the CDC says is still the best way to protect against deaths and hospitalizations caused by coronavirus and lowers the chance of getting sick from the adverse effects of so-called Long COVID.
In a statement, the CDC stated, “If you haven’t had a COVID-19 shot in the last two months, acquire an updated COVID-19 shot to protect yourself throughout the fall and winter.”
The change was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week.
The government agency in charge of regulating vaccines claimed it was “confident in regards to the safety as well as effectiveness” of the new vaccines and added that its benefit-risk analysis “shows that the benefits associated with these vaccines for people who are six months and over outweighed their risks.”
“As we head toward fall and winter, we find ourselves in the best position we’ve ever been in. We have more systems and tools at our disposal now than ever before, which includes effective as well as safe vaccines, easily accessible at-home tests, and beneficial treatments,” he said, urging “all Americans to remain up-to-date with their vaccines.”
The CDC also said that this is the first winter that vaccines for COVID-19, RSV, and influenza, which are the three viruses that cause the most deaths, have been available.
