Pfizer awaits approval of new COVID-19 booster as hospitalizations rise

Laura Geller, KIRO 7 News
·2 min read
46
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

New data shows COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. At the same time, a new COVID-19 booster to combat current variants of the virus could be approved by the end of this month.

Fall is approaching, and so is the next respiratory virus season. Experts predict another wave of COVID-19 come fall and winter.

“It’s important to remember this is an endemic respiratory virus, so we’re always going to have these ups and downs,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, who studies infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said.

The most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data tells the story of a summer COVID-19 increase, as well.

For the week of July 16 through July 22, COVID-19 emergency department visits increased 21.8%. Hospitalizations increased 12.1%. The number of deaths did not increase.

It’s important to note these numbers are nowhere near what we saw during the height of the pandemic.

“The U.S. has experienced increases in COVID-19 during the last three summers, so it’s not surprising to see an uptick after a long period of declining rates,” a CDC spokesperson wrote us.

In the meantime, Pfizer awaits FDA approval on the new booster. Now, some are wondering who should get it.

“If all the 20-year-olds in the country got the boosters, that would not do anything for severe disease against COVID,” Dr. Adalja explained. “What we want to make sure is that people who are at risk for severe disease are getting the booster, that they think of themselves differently than the healthy 20-year-old.”

We asked if people will need a yearly vaccine, similar to the flu shot.

“Right now, if you are a high-risk group, it’s likely that you’re going to need to be boosted at a frequency of likely once a year, maybe twice a year,” Dr. Adalja answered. “So, I think what we might see is a schedule that’s based upon risk factors for severe disease.”

Pfizer executives said their new booster supply is ready and they will wait to hear from regulators.

We also need to see who the CDC recommends should get this shot.