White House signals most people will only need annual Covid booster
STATSep 06, 2022
At a White House briefing on Tues., Dr. Anthony Fauci - director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - stated that COVID vaccines were heading towards a "cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine."
He said that potential annual jabs were becoming "increasingly clear" in the "absence of a dramatically different variant."
By likening updated COVID booster vaccines to the annual flu shots, the White House is attempting to encourage and calm COVID-weary Americans. The message reflects another transition point in the fight against the virus. Although not the stark danger it once was, hundreds are still dying daily and health officials must still encourage the public to continue to take COVID seriously.
Vaccines and boosters are great, but Omicron is mild and spreading too quickly to be stopped altogether. We should aim for natural herd immunity and vaccinate only the vulnerable. Resistance is futile.
There's a 50% chance that COVID will be eradicated by November 2091, according to the Metaculus prediction community.