“The goal very much is to get to a point where people get their COVID shot on a regular basis, the way they do their flu shot.”
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration hopes to make getting a COVID-19 booster as routine as going in for the yearly flu shot.
White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said this latest round of shots will offer protection during the busy cold and flu season, with the hope of transitioning people to get the vaccine yearly. Typically, at least half of U.S. adults get a flu shot. “I believe in keeping things simple,” said Marty Stamey, an outreach coordinator for the Mountain Area Health Education Center in western North Carolina. “I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘I think I’ll just wait and try to do it like the flu shots.’”
Congress also has not moved forward on President Joe Biden’s $22.5 billion request earlier this year for the COVID-19 response. Republicans criticized the request, pointing to the $1.9 trillion already spent on responding to the pandemic. Running short on funds, the government announced it would stop shipping COVID-19 tests to people’s homes after Friday.
“Simply having the vaccines available is one thing, but getting the shots in the arms is another,” said Amy Liebman, a chief program officer for the nonprofit group.