Mith Labor Day, autumn has unofficially begun in America and with it the time when a renewed increase in corona cases is becoming more likely. But the national pandemic fighters in the United States are in good spirits this year. A “milestone” was reached just before the holiday weekend, said Ashish Jha, the White House Corona coordinator, in a press conference on Tuesday: the approval of the booster vaccinations for the omicron variant BA.5. For the vaccine from Biontech-Pfizer it applies from 12 years, in the case of Moderna from 18 years.
A few hours later, the American President also spoke in a statement about a “new phase” in Corona policy. “For most Americans, that means one coronavirus shot a year, every fall,” said Joe Biden. As well as the annual flu shot, everyone over the age of twelve should be vaccinated between Labor Day in early September and Halloween on October 31. Winter is not far off. In the past two years, the number of corona infections and deaths has skyrocketed. “That doesn’t have to be the case this year,” warned Biden.
Jha put it more positively in the morning press conference: “For the first time since December 2020 these vaccines – our vaccines – have caught up with the virus. “That changes everything, said the coordinator, also with a view to the government’s corona policy. “In the past 18 months, it has not always been easy to know what society needs and when.” Corona vaccinations are now becoming routine. In August, the quarantine obligation for contact persons fell, there is no longer a general obligation to wear masks, not even for students, millions of whom are now returning to the classroom after the summer holidays.
“Data situation better than for any vaccine before”
Anthony Fauci, the government’s chief immunologist, who left in December, who had always advocated more rather than fewer measures, also spoke of a turning point on Tuesday. If there is no “dramatically new variant”, a “vaccination rhythm similar to that of the annual flu vaccination” will become increasingly likely, with adapted vaccines in each case. Some particularly vulnerable groups may need to be vaccinated more frequently.
Because the adapted vaccine was not tested again on humans, but only on mice, skepticism had been raised in the past few days. On Tuesday, for example, the top pandemic fighters made a special effort to relieve Americans of their worries. More than 600 million doses of mRNA vaccines have been administered in America, Fauci said. There is now a large amount of data on their safety that is at least as good or better “than for any vaccine before”.
All in all, we know “that the mRNA vaccines against Covid-19 are safe”. Everyone should be vaccinated with the adapted vaccine immediately when it is their turn, Fauci called on the Americans – “to protect yourself, your family and your community”. The government is encouraging everyone over the age of 12 to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Anyone who has just been infected with Corona or has been vaccinated should wait a few more months.