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Soon, we’ll be able to roll up our sleeves and get new Covid vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax.
The latest timeline is mid-September, according to officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration.
They didn’t provide an exact day, but top health experts in the U.S. have their own estimates: “Likely by Sept 14-15,” Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, posted on X.
Topol noted that a panel of CDC advisors will meet on Sept. 12 to vote on a recommendation for the new vaccines, which means that the shots could roll out shortly after. Before that, though, the jabs need a green light from the FDA.
To put it simply, the arrival of these new shots is good news. Covid immunity is likely waning for many Americans. And we’re already seeing a slight rise in Covid cases and hospitalizations that could potentially continue this fall.
There is some uncertainty about whether the new vaccines, which are designed to target the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, will protect against some of the newer Covid variants fueling the latest surge.
All three drugmakers released initial data showing that their shots likely protect against a newer omicron strain called EG.5, or Eris, now the dominant variant nationwide.
But it’s unclear whether the shots will still be effective against BA.2.86, which has been identified in a very small number of cases in the U.S. What makes BA.2.86 alarming is that it has a high number of mutations, meaning it may be better than other strains at escaping immunity.
Here’s Topol’s take: An XBB.1.5 shot “isn’t likely to be as helpful against BA.2.86. If BA.2.86 takes off, it will be a real test of how good our T-cell response can rev up to meet the challenge.”
Regardless, all of the recent Covid headlines could be a plus for shares of Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax in the short term.
“I think people are looking to get back into some of these in the short term, loosely because there’s probably going to be some more attention” on Covid, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” earlier this week, adding that it’s “certainly possible that there will be a bit of a rally.”
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