New COVID-19 Vaccine Restrictions: What It Means For PA Residents

A new and updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for the coming fall and winter respiratory illness season, the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday, though they've announced controversial and stringent conditions on who can access it.

The agency has limited the approval for the new vaccines only to adults 65 and older. For people between 5 and 64, they must have at least one underlying condition, like asthma or obesity, that puts them at risk for severe COVID. Critics and many health advocates say that this needlessly puts the health of patients at risk.

The new and improved vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech will more closely match the new strains circulating the country, targeting a JN.1 sub-lineage of the disease known as LP.8.1.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said they are "reviewing" the FDA's new guidance and did not provide their position on the restrictions when queried by Patch.

"The Pennsylvania Department of Health strongly supports the science-based use of vaccines, which are safe, highly effective, and critical to preventing the spread of illness and saving lives," a spokesperson told Patch on Thursday.

The Department of Health did just announce a late summer surge in the virus, coinciding with surges at similar times over the past few years. In their announcement, they urged residents to get the pre-existing vaccine.

"DOH encourages people who are eligible to get the COVID vaccine now, especially those at higher risk, rather than waiting for the updated fall formulation," Secretary of Health Debra L. Bogen said in a statement last week. "CDC and FDA data suggest the existing vaccine provides moderate protection against severe outcomes, including hospitalization and death, from JN.1 lineage viruses."

It's not clear what distinction between outcomes the pre-existing vaccine and the new vaccine will offer to that age group. The restrictions have sparked sharp pushback from groups like the American Association of Pediatrics, who have published their own vaccine guidelines that, for the first time ever, sharply diverge from the CDC.

According to the latest statistics from the CDC, the rate of the virus is firmly in the "growing" category, with a 92.65 percent probability of upward trajectory.

The overall percentage of emergency department visits due to COVID-19 does remain low, however, at 0.52 percent.

The CDC also estimates an "R" rate of 1.07, or between 0.96 and 1.12, a figure which estimates how many new infections are caused by each infected person. Any "R" over 1 indicates a growth in the virus.

An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must next vote to recommend the vaccines. Since taking office, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has unseated members on the committee and added new members of the panel who are vaccine skeptics.

The new vaccine will begin shipping immediately and be available in pharmacies, hospitals and clinics across the U.S. in the coming days, officials said.