WASHINGTON — The new COVID-19 vaccines that gained final approval last week mark a new stage in the fight against the disease, top Biden administration health officials said during a Tuesday press briefing.
Originally issued in late 2020, COVID vaccines have now been updated to target the BA.4 and BA.5 strains of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which have been dominant this year.
“For a large majority of Americans, we are moving to a point where a single annual COVID shot should provide a high degree of protection against serious illness all year,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House pandemic response team coordinator, said. Jha called the new vaccines a