The new COVID vaccine will be available In Atlanta in a matter of days, according to local health officials.
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising everyone 6 months and older to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine as fall and winter approach.
The new vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna will be available across the nation at local health departments, clinics and pharmacies.
Is The New COVID Vaccine Free?
Health officials have said that most people can still get a COVID-19 vaccine for free. For people with health insurance, most plans will cover the vaccine at no cost to you. People who don’t have health insurance or with health plans that do not cover the cost ($100 to $125) can get a free vaccine from their local health centers; state, local, tribal, or territorial health department, according to the CDC.
An uptick in COVID-19 cases has prompted health officials to plan to produce new vaccines to combat its spread, according to U.S. government officials.
The news comes just four months after the Biden Administration ended COVID vaccine requirements for federal employees.
Before approval of the new COVID shot was granted by pharmaceutical manufacturers, a rigid safety process must pass muster with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration then the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which makes its recommendations to a the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its vaccination decisions, will weigh the safety and effectiveness of the new shots and make recommendations for their use.
When Will the New COVID Shot Be Available?
The new COVID shot has begun being made available in mid-September, according to health officials.
President Biden, on vacation in early September in Lake Tahoe, told reporters that he is pushing to get a new COVID shot for the American people.
“I signed off this morning on a proposal we have to present to Congress a request for additional funding for a new vaccine that is necessary, that works,” Biden told a reporter. “Tentatively it is recommended that it will likely be recommended everybody get it no matter whether they’ve gotten it before or not.”
The latest wave of sickness is tied to a version of the omicron strain called XBB.1.5, health experts said.
if you want to test yourself to see whether you have COVID, there are several at-home tests that work.
How to order free COVID tests in the mail.