CDC, DeSantis at odds over new COVID vaccine, in Florida pharmacies soon. Should you get it?

There's a new COVID-19 vaccine booster in town.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday authorized updated COVID vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech aimed at the recent viral variants. On Tuesday, an advisory committee will decide what recommendations to make regarding who should get the new vaccine.

COVID-19 infections have been rising since early July, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with nationwide hospitalizations up nearly 16% and deaths nearly 17% in the week that ended Thursday compared with the week before. Reported cases in Florida for the week ending Aug. 25 were 57.9% higher than the number of new cases reported for the last week of July.

Who should get the new vaccine? According to the CDC, everyone. According to Gov. DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, no one under the age of 65.

What does the new COVID vaccine do?

The updated versions of the vaccines, Comirnaty from Pfizer-BioNTech and Spikevax from Moderna, have been designed to target the omicron variant XBB.1.5, which was the variant that was rapidly spreading a few months ago.

Do the new vaccines fight the BA.2.86 variant?

The updated vaccines were designed to target XBB.1.5, but early studies suggest they will also be protective against more recent variants such as BA.2.86 (nicknamed Pirola) and EG.5.1 (nicknamed Eris).

According to CDC data, EG.5 currently accounts for 21.5% of all reported cases in the U.S. Next is FL.1.5.1 (4.5%), and two variants of XBB.1.16 (18% all together). There were concerns BA.2.86's specific mutations would thwart current vaccines, but new studies suggested it wasn't as infectious as other variants.

Do I need to get the new COVID vaccine if I've already been vaccinated or boosted?

Everyone 6 years and older should get one updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date, according to the CDC's latest recommendations. People 65 and older can get a second dose, and people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised can get additional doses.

If you've never been vaccinated against COVID-19, this is a good time to start. If it's been more than a year since your vaccination or you never received a booster, you may want this one for the latest protections.

In Tuesday's advisory panel meeting, which consisted of 14 experts in infectious diseases, immunology, family medicine or medical research, experts recommended that everyone get vaccinated with the new updated versions, especially people 65 or older, infants under six months, pregnant people, and anyone with conditions that weaken their immune system or who is receiving treatment that weakens their immune system.

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Do I need to get the new COVID vaccine if I've had COVID?

If you have not been vaccinated or recently boosted against COVID and you have had COVID, you should have some natural resistance to getting it again but the CDC recommends getting vaccinated anyway to remain up to date.

Recent studies have shown that getting a COVID vaccine may help reduce your risk of getting long-haul COVID (new, ongoing or returning health issues long after the initial infection).

Do I need to get the new COVID vaccine if I'm immunocompromised?

People with multiple health problems or whose immune systems are weakened by age, illness or medications should get boosted at least once a year and maybe more, experts say.

"People who are immune compromised, people who have obesity and diabetes, chronic heart, liver, kidney, neurologic disease ‒ those are people who really do benefit," said Dr. Paul Offit, who directs the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. "If you're not vaccinated, you should be vaccinated."

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What do Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo say about the new vaccine?

DeSantis, who was initially a strong supporter of COVID-19 vaccines but later became one of the nation's most prominent skeptics, was not impressed.

“I will not stand by and let the FDA and CDC use healthy Floridians as guinea pigs for new booster shots that have not been proven to be safe or effective,” DeSantis said in a press release sent out after the panel discussion.

Ladapo said Wednesday that state health officials will recommend against anyone under the age of 65 getting the new COVID-19 vaccine boosters.

Florida's former Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees, who resigned in September 2021 after encouraging COVID19-precautions and getting shunned by DeSantis, criticized DeSantis' latest vaccine declaration, saying that "COVID is a vaccine preventable disease. These vaccines are very safe and very effective."

Are COVID cases rising again?

For the third summer in a row, Florida has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases, which experts credit to new variants, children returning to school, waning immunity and a drop in personal precautions. The CDC reports a 4.4% rise in Florida hospital admissions for the week ending Sept. 2 over the week previous, with 2,536 new admissions attributable to COVID infections.

The Florida Department of Health reported 23,960 new cases and 21 deaths for the week ending Aug. 31, with a new case positivity of 22.8%. That's a 227.32% increase over the week of June 23, although the rise has slowed somewhat in the last few weeks with only a 1.94% increase over the previous week.

Florida has seen 7,758,207 cases and 90,232 deaths since 2020. The case number is almost certainly lower than reality as the FDOH does not report cases that were self-diagnosed with home tests.

When will the new COVID vaccine be available in Florida?

Soon. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are both expected to start delivering vaccines to pharmacies and health centers as soon as a recommendation is issued.

Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Updated COVID vaccine approved: New Pfizer, Moderna shots target variants