This year’s newly formulated COVID vaccines are expected to start shipping in the next few days after the FDA on Thursday officially approved the new shots . “Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement announcing that the new vaccine can be distributed to pharmacies and doctor’s offices around the country.
This is the second year with an annually re-designed mRNA COVID vaccine, and many people still have questions. So we asked two local doctors, who are also COVID experts: What do we need to know about the newest COVID vaccine? Who should get it right away? Who should wait? What if I’ve had COVID recently? For those planning to get the newest shot, finding the right time might feel challenging, but the main factors are your risk and whether you’ve had the virus or been vaccinated in the past few months. “Timing of the vaccine is an interesting calculus that each individual has to make in consultation with their physician,” said John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley.
Swartzberg, 79, who was last vaccinated in the spring, plans to get the shot very soon as he is in a high-risk category because of his age. Peter Chin-Hong, 54, a UC San Francisco professor of medicine who specializes in infectious diseases, said he is probably going to wait a little bit. “October is kind .