Even as Georgia waits for the latest vaccine to arrive, perhaps as early as next week, more people are being admitted to hospitals with COVID-19.
FDA vaccine advisers are expected to make a decision on boosters early next week. If approved, the Centers for Disease Control will make recommendations about who should get the vaccine and how it should be used. The CDC’s Vaccine Advisory Board will meet on Tuesday. The final consent required will be made by CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen, who may obtain booster approval shortly after the meeting.
After that, it is expected to take several days for the vaccine to reach pharmacies and clinics.
Some people are eagerly awaiting the latest vaccine to replace the current one, which will be approved in 2022. The vaccine was designed around a variant of the virus circulating at the time, but it remains effective against new incarnations of the shape-shifting virus.
The number of hospitalizations in the state began rising on July 1 and continues to rise steadily each week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 772 new hospitalizations in the week ending Aug. 26, a 24% increase from the previous week. Nationwide, the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 increased by 16% to 17,418 in the same period.
So far, no one seems immune. First Lady Jill Biden has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a White House announcement late Monday night. According to reports, she had only mild symptoms and she was scheduled to spend a week away from President Biden.
And CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen, speaking at an event at the Atlanta Press Club on Wednesday, wore a mask throughout the show, except when she stood six feet away from reporters. Cohen said he was wearing a mask after being in close contact with someone who later tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Cohen tested negative on Wednesday morning after a rapid test, but the CDC has advised anyone who has been in close contact with someone who tested positive to avoid unknowingly spreading the disease. He recommended wearing a mask for 10 days.
“The new coronavirus is with us. We will have to continue to live with this situation,” Cohen said. “We just need to use the tools we have to keep ourselves and those around us protected. That’s what I’m doing today.”
The latest novel coronavirus vaccine is still expected to arrive in mid-September, according to the CDC. “We expect distribution to stabilize and increase in the weeks following the CDC’s recommendation,” the agency said.
The new vaccine was designed to target the XBB.1.5 variant that circulated in the spring, but currently accounts for only 3% of the US coronavirus cases compared to other variants currently in circulation. Because of the similarities, the vaccine is still expected to be effective.
Fears that the highly mutated new virus would not be a vaccine target subsided somewhat on Wednesday. Vaccine maker Moderna has reported that clinical trials have confirmed that its latest novel coronavirus vaccine elicits a strong immune response to the BA.2.86 variant.
The most widely distributed Omicron subspecies feature a small number of mutations, each slightly different from the last. However, BA.2.86 has at least 30 mutations that distinguish it from other Mikron strains, which may make the virus more infective because it can circumvent people’s pre-existing immunity from vaccines and past infections.
This new variant has sparked intense scrutiny by scientists and public health experts, even though it is still rare in the United States.
CDC publishes weekly updates on this variant to continue monitoring the spread. As of Sept. 8, the variant has been identified in at least nine US states. Found in samples from humans or wastewater.
The CDC announced Wednesday that it is not accelerating its fall vaccination campaign due to the emergence and potential risks of BA.2.86. “The current increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the United States is not caused by BA.2.86, but is primarily caused by other circulating viruses,” officials said. .
Doctor. Scott Roberts, an infectious disease expert at Yale Medicine recently said that the new booster is fully compatible with the mutant strain (an Omicron derivative known as EG.5) that currently accounts for the largest share of COVID-19 infections in Georgia and the United States. said it does not match. An estimated 22% of the number of infected people nationwide. But although the vaccine formula was designed to match another Omicron variant earlier this year, it is still expected to work against the new variant, he said.
Coronaviruses have proven difficult to identify, unleash a gallery of rogue mutations that make it difficult to decide where to direct the next vaccine.
“The two strains EG.5 and XBB.1.5 are not identical, but they are quite similar.” Roberts said in an article published in Yale Medicine News.“Given the genetic similarity, my strong suspicion is that there will still be adequate protection from boosters.”
Reporters Helena Oliviero and Donovan Thomas contributed to this report
