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Health

Fauci: COVID Vaccines May Soon Be Given Annually

At a White House briefing on Tues., Dr. Anthony Fauci — director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) — stated that COVID vaccines were heading towards a “cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine.”

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by Improve the News Foundation
Updated
Fauci: COVID Vaccines May Soon Be Given Annually
Image credit: Ed Us/Unsplash

Facts

  • At a White House briefing on Tues., Dr. Anthony Fauci - director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - stated that COVID vaccines were heading towards a "cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine."1
  • He said that potential annual jabs were becoming "increasingly clear" in the "absence of a dramatically different variant."2
  • He further stated that each year the vaccine will be refined for whichever strain of COVID is most dominant within the US. Fauci, 81, recently announced he's stepping down from his position at the NIAID.3
  • Last Thurs., the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed updated COVID boosters for the Omicron variant, which have been rolled out to the general population.4
  • Health officials also stated on Tues. that the so-called "bivalent vaccines" that protect against both the original and Omicron variants of COVID will likely provide better protection against infection than the original vaccine formula.5

Sources: 1NBC, 2FOX News, 3Independent, 4PBS NewsHour and 5Forbes.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by STAT. By likening updated COVID booster vaccines to the annual flu shots, the White House is attempting to encourage and calm COVID-weary Americans. The message reflects another transition point in the fight against the virus. Although not the stark danger it once was, hundreds are still dying daily and health officials must still encourage the public to continue to take COVID seriously.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Wall Street Journal. Vaccines and boosters are great, but Omicron is mild and spreading too quickly to be stopped altogether. We should aim for natural herd immunity and vaccinate only the vulnerable. Resistance is futile.

Predictions