The Biden administration plans to urge all Americans to get a booster shot for the coronavirus this autumn to counter a new wave of infections, a White House official said on Sunday.

The official said that while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are reporting an increase in infections and hospital admissions from the virus, overall levels remain low.

On Thursday, Moderna (MRNA.O) said initial data showed its updated COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the “Eris” and “Fornax” subvariants in humans.

Moderna and other COVID-19 vaccine makers Novavax (NVAX.O), Pfizer (PFE.N) and German partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) have created versions of their shots aimed at the XBB.1.5 subvariant.

Pending approval from health regulators in the United States and Europe, the companies expect the updated shots to be available in the coming weeks for the autumn vaccination season.

We will be encouraging all Americans to get those boosters in addition to flu shots and RSV shots,” the official said, referring to the Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

  • Hazdaz@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Something tells me that this is going to be a hard sell.

    I think most people are out of pandemic-mode already even if the pandemic isn’t done with us. And while it should be easier to sell the idea of getting a booster to people since there weren’t piles of dead bodies from the vaccines like the anti-vaxx people predicted, but that kind of logic doesn’t work on folks. The anti-vaxx people were proven wrong, and yet somehow those people are going to claim they were correct and be even more adamant about not getting the vaccines this time.

    • Rolder@reddthat.com
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      1 year ago

      It’s a slightly harder sell because the vaccine didn’t kill me nor did I expect it to, but it definitely did knock me on my ass with some flu like side effects for a day or two.

      • aircooledJenkins@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I got the flu and covid shots last time. Knocked me on my ass for the weekend. BUT when I caught covid a few months later, it was an annoying cold. I’ll take a weekend on the couch over a week or more of shittiness any time.

        • Rolder@reddthat.com
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          1 year ago

          I have the ultimate defense against Covid: Being a loser who never leaves home unless I have to

        • 0XiDE@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Guess I was lucky - no shots and covid was still like an annoying cold.

          • Coreidan@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            For sure. Everyone’s immune system is different.

            Some people can get the flu and only be out a day or two. Some people get it and it kills them.

            It also depends on which strain you came in contact with. The virus in the beginning was a lot more violent then what it is now. Mutations have weakened the virus over time.

      • Cryst@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        Did you get covid? Because even with all my vaccines and boosters I felt like absolute shit for 4 to 5 days and was out of work for a week. When I returned I still certainly wasn’t 100% until the 2 week mark. I can’t imagine what it would have been like without a vaccine. A day or two of feeling crappy ill take. Thank you very much.

        • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          You probably would have been very hard hit with COVID. The vaccines kind of knocked me out of commission for a day. I got COVID in February and I was out for a week with some lingering effects for another week. I quarantined and did not give it to the rest of my family though.

      • CanofBeanz@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        And the number of people who got a vaccine and still got COVID, i know a lot of those people and can guarantee they won’t be getting another shot.

        • Coreidan@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Well that’s the idea. The vaccine doesn’t stop you from getting Covid. It was never designed that way.

          The point of the vaccine is to produce enough of the antibodies so that when you do get sick you have a stronger immune system to deal with it because if the antibodies.

          Vaccines fool your body into thinking you’re sick with the virus so you start building antibodies. Eventually you stop doing that which is why boosters are a thing.

          The reality is the vaccine doesn’t come with all of the bad shit that Covid can bring, so although you might feel a little shitty, at least you’re some what prepared for the real virus thanks to the antibodies your body produced.

          The main problem with the vaccine and Covid is that people who don’t understand science have a hard time accepting these things so stuff like masks and vaccines are interpreted as bullshit.