FDA approves new COVID-19 vaccine

In September, the FDA approved a new COVID-19 vaccine. The new vaccine is formulated to better target variants that are currently circulating and will replace outdated vaccines.

The CDC recommends everyone six months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 illness this fall and winter.

Dr. Jesse Bracamonte from Mayo Clinic Arizona joined Arizona Horizon to talk about the importance of the new vaccine.

“It targets the XBB.1.5 strain, it is kind of the new flavor of the virus and provides immunity to the older variants,” Dr. Bracamonte said.

Vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer depend on the manufacturers but the idea is to find which one is best for the person Dr. Bracamonte said.

The vaccine is not necessarily a booster but instead an updated vaccine that comes out every fall.

“The vaccine won’t prevent you from the disease, but it may give your body the defense system to really fight it off,” Dr. Bracamonte said.