NEWS: CDC Issues New Guidance On COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots

As the situation with COVID-19 continues to change and develop, AllEars will be bringing you the latest relevant news that could affect a theme park visit.

Now that more Americans are getting vaccinated against COVID-19, there has been growing discussion about the necessity of a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.

COVID-19 Sign

Over the past few months, vaccine companies including Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson have sought approval from the FDA for a booster shot, with Phizer’s CEO even sharing that people will “likely” need an annual dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Thus far, Pfizer has been the only company to receive authorization from the FDA and now the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is updating its guidance.

According to CNN, the CDC is now recommending boosters for a broader range of people including those 65 and older, in long-term care facilities, those ages 18 and older with underlying medical conditions, and “adults at high risk of disease from occupational and institutional exposures to COVID-19” six months after receiving their last vaccine.

The majority of these new CDC recommendations were voted in by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, though the recommendation that those in high-risk jobs receive the booster was an addition from the CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

But, the guidance now aligns with the FDA’s recent emergency authorization for Pfizer booster vaccines in “people 65 and older, people at high risk of severe disease and people whose jobs put them at risk of infection.”