Biden administration to urge Americans get new COVID-19 boosters
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.
I wonder if the new boosters will be given out for "free" (in quotes because it's taxpayers money blah blah, for the pedantic people)? I definitely want a booster since it's been more than a year(?) since the last one, and it would be great if they gave it out without additional charge.
I had a whole thing with my pharmacy about this. They kept on asking for insurance and social security numbers. Me repeatedly pointing out that the vaccine is free and open to everyone living in the US regardless of status.
I swear they can't help themselves. They are so used to these fucking games.
The government only covers it for those who don't have insurance. It's free to you either way, but at the end of the day someone still gets the bill.
Is that true even now that we are out of the state of emergency?
They will be in most countries.