New COVID-19 booster shots could be available by the end of next week.
In a few days, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to sign off on a new type of booster to protect against the original coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and the Omicron variant.
Knowing the new shots were coming, Cheryl Sidney wanted to wait to get one but two weeks before her Alaska cruise from Seattle, she decided to get the current booster.
“Because I was going on a cruise with more than 4,000 people, so I wasn’t going to take that chance,” Sidney said.
If the federal agencies sign off, public health officials in King County expect the first shipments of the new vaccine right after Labor Day, with shots possibly being available by the end of next week.
They said demand will be high so it could be difficult to get an appointment at first.
“Remember, it’s a little tough in the first couple of weeks but hang in there and everyone should be able to get their shot,” said Dr. Mark Del Beccaro, who leads the vaccine effort for Public Health - Seattle & King County.
The CDC will set guidelines for how long people should wait after a previous shot or infection.
Del Beccaro expects the new boosters will be available to adolescents and adults who completed their primary vaccine series.
“Everybody should be getting it,” he said. “Most folks have gone quite a while since they’ve gotten their last shot.”
Unlike the current COVID-19 vaccine, there have been no human trials for the new boosters. It was developed similarly to traditional flu shots that are tweaked each year for new strains.
“We have no reason to suspect the side effects or anything will be any greater than they were with the prior ones, just like we don’t with the flu strains,” Del Beccaro said.
He said the new booster shots will be important this fall when people are back indoors.
The shots are expected to be available in pharmacies, doctors’ offices and at special vaccination events.
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