Starting Oct. 1, 10 groups, including pregnant women, elderly people and healthcare workers, would be eligible for free COVID-19 vaccinations, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
The CDC said that its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices determined earlier this month target recipients for the fall and winter vaccination program in line with the global trend that prioritizes high-risk populations over universal vaccination.
Eligible groups include people aged 65 and older, indigenous people aged 55 to 64, residents and staff at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, pregnant women, healthcare and disease prevention workers, childcare staff, and home-based caregivers and nannies.
Photo: CNA
Also included are parents of infants younger than six months old, children aged six months to six years old, and high-risk people aged six months and older — such as those eligible for flu vaccine priority, and people with tuberculosis, disabilities, mental health conditions or dementia.
Adults aged 50 to 64 without high-risk conditions would be eligible for free vaccinations in phase 2, which begins on Nov. 1, the CDC said.
At the committee’s meeting on June 12, the experts also recommended that the LP.8.1-targeted vaccine as the primary option, based on guidance from the WHO, the US and the EU, the CDC said.
Although COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 remains dominant domestically, the infections of variant LP.8.1 are increasing, it said.
Following the committee’s recommendation, the CDC plans to purchase 3.07 million vaccine doses ahead of the seasonal vaccination program, including 2.77 million doses of Moderna’s LP.8.1-targeted vaccine and 300,000 doses of Novavax’s JN.1-targeted vaccine for individuals who cannot receive mRNA vaccines, the CDC said.
The Moderna JN.1 vaccine currently in use would continue to be available to everyone aged six months and older until Sept. 30, it said.
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