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[ad_1] A person receives a COVID-19 vaccination dose, during a free distribution of COVID-19 rapid test kits for those who received vaccination shots or booster shots, at Union Station on January 7, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama | Getty Images The U.S. Food and Drug Administration 's independent panel of advisors raised doubts about the need to "periodically" update Covid vaccines, noting that it's unclear if the virus is seasonal like the flu. Advisors on Thursday unanimously voted that new jabs for the fall should be monovalent — meaning they are designed against one variant of Covid — and target one of the omicron XBB strains . Those are now the dominant variants nationwide.  But the original voting question included language about whether the panel recommends a "periodic update" to Covid shots.  Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA's vaccine division, asked the panel's chair to strike the wording from the question after severa...

[ad_1] A vial labelled "Novavax V COVID-19 Vaccine" is seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2022.  Dado Ruvic | Reuters Novavax 's updated Covid vaccine won the backing of U.S. regulators on Tuesday, putting the shot on track to roll out weeks after new jabs from Pfizer and Moderna reached Americans. The Food and Drug Administration authorized Novavax's single-strain vaccine, which targets omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 , for emergency use in people ages 12 and up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now including Novavax's shot in the same recommendation it issued last month for updated vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. That recommendation says all Americans ages six months and older can receive an updated Covid jab. Novavax said in a statement that doses of the shot will likely be available within the next few days. "Novavax's authorization today means people will now have the choice of a protein-based non-MRNA option to help...

[ad_1] Pharmacist Ani Martirosyan administers an immunization to a patient at a CVS on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023 in Glendale, CA. Brian Van Der Brug | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images The rollout of a new round of Covid vaccines in the U.S. is off to a bumpy start as some patients report delays in health insurance coverage for the shots.  Private insurance plans and government payers such as Medicare are required to cover the new jabs from Pfizer and Moderna , which became available late last week. U.S. regulators have recommended all Americans ages 6 months and up get the new round of vaccines.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, some private health-care providers and CVS confirmed the temporary delays in coverage and emphasized that Americans can access Covid vaccines at no cost through insurance plans. They said the reason for the delays is that some insurers are still working to update their plans to include the new vaccines. Dozens of posts on social medi...

[ad_1] A healthcare worker prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic in the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Vanessa Leroy | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Biden administration on Thursday announced a program to provide free Covid vaccines to uninsured Americans through December 2024 after the federal government's supply of shots runs out this fall. Those free shots, which the government is purchasing at a discount, will be available to the uninsured at pharmacies and 64 state and local health departments. The Health and Human Services Department also is hoping that vaccine makers will donate shots to pharmacies as part of the program. There are between 25 to 30 million uninsured adults in the United States and other Americans whose insurance will not cover free Covid products this fall, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently, the government has an ...

[ad_1] Nikos Pekiaridis | Nurphoto | Getty Images Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Novavax shares jump on news of a settlement payment from the Canadian government. It's unclear how many doses of Novavax's jab – its only commercially available product after 35 years – went unused. Under the amended agreement, Novavax will also provide Canada with fewer doses of its vaccine on a revised delivery schedule.  However, Canada can terminate the contract if Novavax fails to receive regulatory approval for vaccine production at the Canadian government's biomanufacturing facility by Dec. 31, 2024, according to the agreement. The announcement is another sign of hope for investors after the cash-strapped company raised doubts about its ability to stay in business earlier this year.  CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC's latest health coverage: In May, Novavax adopted a more positive outlook and announced a sweeping cost-cutting plan alongside its first-quarter earnings repor...