CDC Updates COVID-19 Primary Series/Booster Recommendations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its COVID-19 primary series and booster dose recommendations. Bivalent COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Novavax) are considered to be, in most cases, the only authorized vaccines moving forward as of August 31, 2022. The bivalent vaccines are considered updated, as they add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition to target the more transmissible and immune-evading COVID-19 variants.

In order to be considered up to date, in terms of COVID-19 vaccination, the CDC states that you must "have completed a primary series and received the most recent booster dose recommended for you." To ease in determining one's COVID-19 vaccination status and which vaccine dose(s) is recommended, the CDC has created a useful "schedule at a glance" and decision-making tool for most individuals and for those who are considered immunocompromised.

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The newly approved, via Emergency Use Authorization and ACIP recommendation, Novavax is included in the updated COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Novavax represents the only adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine option and is recommended as a booster and primary series for individuals 12 years and older.

External Links:

CDC Recommends the First Updated COVID-19 Booster

CDC's MMWR on ACIP Novavax recommendations

Updated CDC COVID-19 Guidance

CDC's "Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines"