U.S. "There is a high possibility of getting a corona vaccine every year like the flu… Distributing specialized vaccines"

▲ Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

U.S. health officials say the COVID-19 vaccine may need to be given every year, just like the flu vaccine.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the United States, said at a briefing on the 6th local time, "Unless other dramatic mutations appear, the COVID-19 vaccine is highly likely to move on a route with an inoculation cycle similar to the annual influenza vaccine." said.

Just as vaccination is recommended in preparation for the annual flu epidemic, it means that the incidence of COVID-19 should be reduced through regular vaccination every year.

"Some specific vulnerable groups may need more frequent vaccinations," he said.

Up to now, the United States has considered two doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as the primary dose, and has recommended booster shots (boost doses) up to the second dose depending on age.

However, as the highly contagious Omicron sub-mutant BA.5 became the dominant species, Pfizer and Moderna developed a vaccine specialized for it, and the United States finally approved the vaccination on the 1st.

Among these specialized vaccines, Pfizer vaccine is approved for people 12 years of age and older, and Moderna vaccine is approved for people 18 years of age and older.

In this regard, Health and Welfare Minister Javier Bessera confirmed in a briefing today that 90% of Americans will be within 8 kilometers of the new vaccination site by the end of this week, confirming that the distribution of specialized vaccines will begin this week.

Assisi Zha, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, explained that these specialized vaccines are also available free of charge like previous vaccines.

"The coronavirus has continued to evolve over the past two years, but the vaccine has remained the same. But now we have a vaccine for the dominant strain," he said. .

Rochelle Wallensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said: "Modeling predictions show that specialized vaccinations in the early fall of this year could prevent up to 100,000 hospitalizations and 9,000 deaths, and could save billions of dollars in direct medical expenses alone. I did.

But the coordinator said it was approved for ages 12 and older, but it's unclear when the vaccine will be approved for children, and an update could be made in the late fall.

Health officials have stressed the need for Congress to support budgeting for vaccinations and further research into viruses and vaccines that may never evolve.

Minister Bessera feared that free vaccines would be available this year, but that there is no way to know what will happen next or what the next generation of vaccines will look like without research resources.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health and Welfare recently announced that the government's supply of vaccines and antiviral drugs would run out next year.

This raises another concern about re-spreading, as it means that vaccines are not distributed for free as they are now, but must be vaccinated with money.

The Department of Health and Human Services said the budget was short and Americans were no longer able to order free at-home test kits.

(Photo = Getty Images Korea)