A new booster is expected to come out this fall, not just for COVID, but also RSV and influenza.
Dr. Frank Rhame is an infectious disease specialist with Allina Health. He says the newest COVID-19 booster will not include the original Wuhan strain as the virus has continued to mutate.
"And as the virus moves along, the vaccine moves along," says Rhame who says it's been challenging, to say the least, for scientists to keep up.
The new booster, which is based on BA.1.15, was the strain that emerged last spring and scientists say that it appears will protect against these new variants.
"There's a certain grandeur to the struggle between the virus and us," Rhame says. "It's moved along and we find a new vaccine. So it's a back-and-forth struggle."
Rhame says the new booster for COVID is expected to come out sometime in September with September 12 being the most likely target date.
Why are COVID boosters still needed?
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told Face the Nation on Sunday that expecdt this to be a yearly conversation.
“This does look like it’s going to be a flu-like paradigm where there’s going to be new variants that emerge each year,” says Gottlieb. "You’re going to need updated protection.”
Gottlieb adds he is "pretty concerned" about the new COVID variant BA 2.86. While it doesn't appear to be more dangerous than other strains, it could be more transmissible, he said.
"Certainly, at this point, it doesn't appear more pathogenic so it doesn't appear to be more dangerous, but it may be more transmissible than the strains that are circulating now," Gottlieb told CBS News Margaret Brennan. "And in that case, it could overtake them. It's too early to know. The testing's underway. I think we're going to know a lot more in a week or two. But to again put this in perspective, this new variant is as genetically different from Omicron as Omicron was from the original strain that emerged in Wuhan so this is a highly-mutated variant."
Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax are all expected to have a booster available and Gottlieb says Health insurance should cover the cost of COVID boosters like it does for flu shots. Those who are uninsured can get assistance from the Biden administration by the time it is available according to CBS News.
Get more information on COVID-19 from the CDC here.