PBS NewsHour | CDC director on updated COVID booster as infections rise | Season 2023

AMNA NAWAZ: A new round of COVID-19 boosters will be available within days, as COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to rise across the country.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the new shots yesterday, and now the CDC recommended this evening that all Americans 6 months and older should get a new booster.

Dr. Mandy Cohen is the director of the CDC.

She joins me now to discuss.

Dr. Cohen, welcome.

Thanks for joining us.

DR. MANDY COHEN, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Well, thanks for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: Let’s talk about where we are as a nation right now.

COVID deaths and hospitalizations are far below where they once were.

Only about 20 percent of Americans got the last booster, and life, as you know, in much of the country has reverted to pre-COVID behavior for most.

So, what is your best argument for why people should go get this new booster?

DR. MANDY COHEN: Well, I think we all wish COVID would be fully in the rearview mirror, but the reality is, it’s still here with us, it’s still circulating, and it’s still making some people very sick.

But the good news is, is, we have more tools to protect ourselves.

We just have to use those tools.

That’s why, today, the CDC did recommend that everyone over the age of 6 months get an updated COVID-19 vaccine.

AMNA NAWAZ: And should people who got the bivalent booster last fall assume that their immunity and protection has waned?

DR. MANDY COHEN: So, I think it’s important for folks to know that your immunity does decrease over time.

These vaccines are very good at preventing the severe illness that COVID can cause, but that protection does decrease over time.

And it’s important to know that this virus changes.

There are different types of this virus that are circulating right now.

And this updated vaccine is mapped and matched to those new circulating viruses, so, again, something we wanted to recommend for everyone.

But, importantly, those over 65 are certainly at highest risk for the worst outcomes of COVID.

We’re still seeing folks in the hospital and dying from COVID.

More than 80 percent of those deaths are from people who are over 65.

So, getting a COVID shot and an updated one is really protecting you, particularly if you’re older.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, age clearly plays a role there.

And we should note, because we don’t get to say this number a lot, we’re still seeing around 650 deaths a week due to COVID.

Does the data show that the majority of those are among unvaccinated or are many of those vaccinated too?

DR. MANDY COHEN: So, right now, we know that most folks have gotten some sort of exposure to the COVID virus, either through having COVID before or through getting a vaccination.

But, importantly, we know that protection decreases over time.

And so that’s why we want to make sure folks are getting an updated vaccine, again, to boost up their immunity to make sure that they have all the protection they can going into the fall and winter.

AMNA NAWAZ: So the U.S. government had previously been buying hundreds of millions of doses, so those shots could be free to the American public.

That’s no longer the case.

So, if you’re one of the 22 million American adults who don’t have insurance, what is this going to cost you?

DR. MANDY COHEN: Well, I want to say, there is an opportunity for everyone to get access to a free COVID vaccine this season.

It is going to be a little bit different than in the past.

So we are outside of the emergency time.

So it is more like getting your flu shot that you have done before.

So if you’re used to getting your flu shot in a pharmacy or a doctor’s office, that’s likely where you will — can go and access a COVID vaccine as well.

But it will be free, either covered by your insurance or through a program the CDC runs that allows you to get access to get a free vaccine if you don’t have insurance.

You can access those free vaccines at pharmacies like CVS or Walgreens or at local health departments or community health centers.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, you’re saying no one should have to pay for this updated booster if they choose to get it?

DR. MANDY COHEN: We don’t want costs to be a barrier for anyone.

But, again, this is something we’re just able to do during this period of time, but it’s important that folks do make a plan to go get vaccinated.

AMNA NAWAZ: So there’s another concern, Dr. Cohen.

We have been hearing a lot from medical professionals about this so-called tripledemic or tridemic of COVID and RSV and flu.

How likely are we to see a surge of all three this year?

DR. MANDY COHEN: Well, we know, every fall and winter, we see lots of viruses that circulate.

We just have to add COVID to the mix.

So we know flu is going to be increasing.

We know RSV is going to be increasing.

But the good news is, is that we have more tools than ever and, for the first time ever, have vaccines against all three of the major viruses that spread this fall and winter.

And so not only do we want folks to get this updated COVID booster, but it’s a great time to go out and get your flu vaccine as well.

And, for older adults, we have a vaccine against RSV.

And for our little kids, again, RSV can often affect the youngest among us, that we want to make sure they can get an immunization as well.

So that is coming in the next number of weeks.

AMNA NAWAZ: Speaking of the little kids, we know many of them are now back in school.

And we have seen reports of a few schools beginning to require masking once again when they do see an uptick in the number of COVID cases in particular.

Do you recommend that schools and workplaces take those steps right now?

DR. MANDY COHEN: So, again, there are many ways that folks can protect themselves against all of the viruses that we know they’re going to be circulating.

Today, we’re wanting to make sure folks know to get vaccinated, vaccinated against COVID and flu and RSV if it’s available for you.

But there are other tools we can use to protect ourselves.

Testing and treatment is an important tool, and, of course, as you mentioned, washing your hands, wearing a mask when there’s more circulating virus, staying home when you’re sick, improving ventilation.

These are all layers of tools that we can use to protect ourselves.

We’re in a better place than we have ever been to be able to do that.

We just need to use these tools.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is the director of the CDC, Dr. Mandy Cohen, joining us tonight.

Dr. Cohen, thank you.

Good to talk to you.

DR. MANDY COHEN: Thank you.

Thanks for having me.