SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio-area doctors are preparing for an upcoming rollout of a new updated COVID-19 booster vaccine.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the authorization of an updated version to target newer COVID variants.
University Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bryan Alsip said in an interview with KSAT 12 that the updated version would be a combination of the original vaccine and a part meant to target newer variants.
“The idea is that you have better protection against, really, the version of the virus that’s most prevalent,” Alsip said.
He also said updated COVID-19 vaccines may become the norm as the virus has become more of an endemic disease.
“The protection we’ve gotten from the previous version of the vaccine has been good, but it’s changing. And we need to keep up with that, just like we do every year with influenza vaccine,” Alsip said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will vote Thursday on whether to support recommending the updated boosters for use.
If recommended, the Pfizer vaccine will be for people ages 12 and older, and the Moderna vaccine will be for people ages 18 and older.
Currently, Dr. Alsip said we’re not seeing quite the high surges we did in the past San Antonio, but he said that could change.
“COVID is certainly not gone away,” Alsip said. “People who are at high risk even now should still be aware and wearing masks in public.