KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Second COVID-19 booster shots could be authorized soon for all adults.
They've been available for those 50 and older and with weakened immune systems since March.
A White House official said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is making it a priority to authorize them for all adults soon, citing concerns about waning immunity and reinfections.
It's good news for people like Ellen Vigdorth, who said she already received her second booster to protect her grandchildren.
Vigdorth feels confident in the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and boosters.
"I think that there have been enough clinical trials for peoplem, so it's time to step up and get the vaccine so we can get herd immunity," Vigdorth said.
Hospitalizations at the University of Kansas Health System have been steadily rising for the last few months.
"There's still high viral circulation, but luckily we aren't seeing necessarily the high amounts of hospitalization, but obviously you can see that the hospitalizations still are higher than they have been a few months ago," Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at the KU Health System, said.
For Angela Coats, a second booster is a no-brainer.
"I work with children, and I'm not going to jeopardize any of them," Coats said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants make up more than 70% of new infections in the country, and while these subvariants may escape immunity from vaccine and infection, vaccination is still the best way to prevent severe illness and death.
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