So it looks like Biden's FDA is going to recommend yearly #COVID booster shots after its Vaccine Products Advisory Committee meeting tomorrow, which is bad news because the best evidence we have is that current boosters only protect for about 4-6 months. So this looks to be yet another decision that prioritizes political/economic calculations over public health. You can watch tomorrow's FDA meeting live on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjULNuSYfd0
Here's a good, non-paywalled #WashingtonPost Q&A covering what we know about the new bivalent boosters: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/01/25/covid-bivalent-booster-xbb15-infections/
The good news is real-world studies are *not* so far duplicating early lab results showing boosters would be less effective against the latest variants. That's excellent.
The tricky part is we really don't yet know how long bivalent booster protection lasts, and 1 shot a year will probably not be enough for many of us.
#covid #vaccine #FDA #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver
Scroll down at that WaPo link for this quote from Eric Topol, a molecular medicine prof who's been a good source of info:
“The chance of getting covid throughout the year is unlike the flu. The chance of having full protection for a year isn’t backed up by data. The best data we have is four to six months.”
If the best data we have suggests only 4-6 month protection from the newest boosters, why are Biden's #FDA folks considering a once-a-year #COVID #vaccine plan?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/01/25/covid-bivalent-booster-xbb15-infections/
Because they're less interested in protecting people than they are making it equivalent to the flu. I think they've proven this time and time again. The newsworthy occasion will be when they start dealing with it with the seriousness it deserves.
