The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is tracking toward recommending that Americans get an annual COVID-19 vaccine, the agency’s new director says.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, who recently replaced Dr. Rochelle Walensky, says that the new CDC recommendation is expected to be finalized and announced in September.
“We’re just on the precipice of that, so I don’t want to get ahead of where our scientists are here and doing that evaluation work, but yes we anticipate that COVID will become similar to flu shots, where it is going to be you get your annual flu shot and you get your annual COVID shot,” Dr. Cohen told Spectrum News.
“We’re not quite there yet, but stay tuned. I think within the next couple of weeks, month we’re going to hear more from our experts on COVID shots.”
The director, a strong proponent of the vaccines, didn’t offer any safety or efficacy data or any other details but said she worries “about parents not vaccinating kids” against COVID-19 and other viruses.
The CDC didn’t respond to emailed questions, including what it would say to critics who note that there’s a lack of clinical trial data supporting the shots.
