#CVS COVID VACCINE CALIFORNIA PLUS#

The only thing that changes is the specific mix of influenza strains targeted by the shots. They point out that the FDA and CDC approve a new version of the flu shot every year without testing it in people first. But health officials say that’s not a problem. “They’ve shown that they produce very good immune responses in humans, and they were safe,” he said.Ĭlinical trials of the latest Omicron boosters are still underway, so the results in humans aren’t in yet. Unlike the U.S., Britain opted to greenlight a booster formulation targeting the initial version of Omicron, which is known as BA.1. The concept of a variant-specific bivalent vaccine has been tested in humans on a small scale before - including one against the Delta variant that fueled last summer’s surge, which ended up not being needed and another for the original Omicron variant that emerged globally after Thanksgiving, Marks said. What evidence suggests the new boosters are safe and effective?Ĭaliff said the original COVID-19 vaccinations have a well-documented safety record, noting they’ve been administered in billions of people worldwide. The pending arrival of an Omicron booster shot marks an ambitious new phase in the nation’s vaccination campaign before a possible new COVID surge. As a result, they “are expected to help restore immune protection against COVID-19.”Ĭalifornia Omicron COVID-19 booster shots are coming: Will they be a game-changer? But that is the goal here.”Ĭaliff said these updated boosters “contain the same basic ingredients” as the already available vaccines, but they now instruct the recipient’s immune system to recognize two kinds of spike proteins instead of just one. “We don’t know for a fact yet whether we will get to that same level. “The hope here is that by increasing the amount of antibodies we have to that particular variant, we will restore the kind of protection that we had when we first saw these vaccines launched in the late part of 2020 and early part of 2021, where we had very good protection against symptomatic disease,” Marks said, referring to BA.4 and BA.5. Both subvariants share the same spike protein on the virus’ surface. They’re designed to protect not only against the original coronavirus strain but also both BA.5 and another Omicron subvariant called BA.4. The new shots are known as bivalent vaccines. Modeling studies indicate that distributing boosters starting this month could prevent 137,000 more hospitalizations and 9,700 more deaths compared with beginning a booster campaign in November.

The CDC said coronavirus reinfections were rare during the pandemic’s first year and during the Delta surge in the summer of 2021, but the risk of reinfection “significantly increased during Omicron,” the CDC said.įederal officials said there are benefits to launching a booster campaign right away. BA.5 accounts for almost 89% of the coronavirus specimens now in circulation in the U.S., according to the CDC. That’s especially true when it comes to the dominant BA.5 subvariant, added Dr. will replace most of its COVID-19 booster shots with updated versions that target the dominant Omicron strains, the CDC said Thursday. Science & Medicine CDC endorses booster shots that target Omicron for Americans 12 and up

But as the coronavirus has evolved, the original vaccine formulations have become less effective at warding off infections, FDA Commissioner Dr.

#CVS COVID VACCINE CALIFORNIA PLUS#

The combination of a standard vaccination series plus a booster still does a good job of protecting against severe hospitalization and death.

Why are officials authorizing an Omicron booster? County has already pre-ordered about 170,000 doses and expects to receive them sometime between Tuesday and Friday.Ĭalifornia “has been allotted over 1 million doses, and will have ample supply for all those who are eligible,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement to The Times. Residents can also call (833) 540-0473 between 8 a.m. County Department of Public Health said the updated booster will be available as soon as Wednesday at hundreds of sites across the county, including 12 operated by the agency, more than 700 mobile vaccine clinics and nearly 250 community, pharmacy and clinic sites. CVS, Walgreens, RiteAid are among the pharmacies that say they’re offering appointments for the updated Omicron booster.

Cvs covid vaccine california