DENVER – Viral respiratory season is set to ramp up in the coming weeks and already, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is projecting this year will be a repeat of last.
“As with last year, the total number of hospitalizations this year is expected to be higher than what we as a nation experienced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” CDC officials wrote in their Sept. 14 forecast, as they outlined two potential scenarios for the triple viral whammy in the fall and winter.
Those who have been recently infected with COVID-19 within the past 2 or 3 months should talk with the health care provider to determine the timing of their next COVID-19 vaccine.Updated COVID-19 shots for Coloradans might be available by Thursday: CDPHE Óscar Contreras 7:37 PM, Sep 13, 2023 When it comes to RSV, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved two vaccines against RSV – one for older adults and one for pregnant women near the end of their third trimester.
The reason why the RSV vaccines were approved but not strongly recommended to the targeted group by the CDC’s advisory panel earlier this summer was because clinical trial data showed some people went on to develop Guillain-Barré syndrome and atrial fibrillation days after vaccination, according to Yale Medicine.
Unlike previous years, the updated COVID-19 vaccine won’t be paid for by the federal government this time around, but those with healthcare insurance will be able to get them through their healthcare provider and at pharmacies, Herlihy said. The RSV vaccines will be covered by Medicare Part D, according to Yale Medicine, but Herlihy highly recommended people speak to their insurance provider to determine if they’ll cover those vaccine this fall, as some people are being charged over $300 out-of-pocket for these new shots.
While it is still too soon to know how the updated COVID-19 vaccine will stunt the spread of newer variants, the CDC said at the end of last month the updated COVID-19 vaccine “will likely be effective at reducing severe disease and hospitalization,” against several of the now-dominant SARS-CoV-2 variants.