New COVID-19 Vaccine to Launch in September
2023-08-22
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1The latest COVID-19 vaccine is set for release in September.
2But health experts say it remains unclear how many Americans will choose to get the new shot.
3The efforts to prepare a new vaccine come as hospitals in the United States report increases in COVID-19 patients since early July.
4But the number of hospitalizations is still far below those reported earlier this year and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
5A drop in infections has caused demand for the vaccine to fall sharply since the first shot became available in 2021.
6Officials say that overall, more than 240 million people in the U.S. had received at least one COVID-19 injection.
7That number represents about 73 percent of America's population.
8By autumn of 2022, fewer than 50 million people got the vaccine shots.
9By that time, most people in the U.S. had either been infected with COVID-19 or had received at least one shot.
10Public health experts have advised people to look at COVID-19 vaccines the same as they do shots for other sicknesses, such as the flu.
11Flu vaccines are developed to fight the latest virus versions, called variants, and are generally administered once per flu season.
12But efforts to get people to seek COVID-19 shots are likely to be hurt by decreasing concern about the virus.
13Some people also question if the vaccines are safe.
14Healthcare providers and drug businesses have said they plan to start offering the new COVID-19 vaccine next month.
15The vaccine was developed to fight virus versions linked to the Omicron variant, which has been spreading in the U.S. since last year.
16Ashley Kirzinger is a lead researcher with the Kaiser Family Foundation.
17She told Reuters news agency that health officials need to send a clear message to the public that COVID-19 has not gone away.
18In addition, the messaging should note the new vaccine can protect individuals from serious sickness and hospitalization.
19Kirzinger noted her foundation has carried out public opinion studies on the issue.
20She said the top reason vaccinated people gave for rejecting more vaccinations was the belief that people were protected from the virus because of earlier shots or infections.
21The two largest COVID-19 vaccine makers - Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna - have predicted far less demand this autumn for the shots.
22Last year, vaccine sales by Pfizer and Moderna reached a combined $56 billion worldwide.
23This year, experts estimate the shots will bring in $20 billion for the companies.
24The COVID-19 public health emergency officially ended in May.
25Since then, the government has handed over much of the vaccination effort to private companies.
26More than 1.1 million people in the United States have died from COVID, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports.
27The CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are considering for approval the final versions of the new vaccine.
28CDC Director Mandy Cohen said last week she expects the shots to be launched during the third or fourth week of September.
29I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The latest COVID-19 vaccine is set for release in September. But health experts say it remains unclear how many Americans will choose to get the new shot. 2The efforts to prepare a new vaccine come as hospitals in the United States report increases in COVID-19 patients since early July. But the number of hospitalizations is still far below those reported earlier this year and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 3A drop in infections has caused demand for the vaccine to fall sharply since the first shot became available in 2021. Officials say that overall, more than 240 million people in the U.S. had received at least one COVID-19 injection. That number represents about 73 percent of America's population. 4By autumn of 2022, fewer than 50 million people got the vaccine shots. By that time, most people in the U.S. had either been infected with COVID-19 or had received at least one shot. 5Public health experts have advised people to look at COVID-19 vaccines the same as they do shots for other sicknesses, such as the flu. Flu vaccines are developed to fight the latest virus versions, called variants, and are generally administered once per flu season. 6But efforts to get people to seek COVID-19 shots are likely to be hurt by decreasing concern about the virus. Some people also question if the vaccines are safe. 7Healthcare providers and drug businesses have said they plan to start offering the new COVID-19 vaccine next month. The vaccine was developed to fight virus versions linked to the Omicron variant, which has been spreading in the U.S. since last year. 8Ashley Kirzinger is a lead researcher with the Kaiser Family Foundation. She told Reuters news agency that health officials need to send a clear message to the public that COVID-19 has not gone away. In addition, the messaging should note the new vaccine can protect individuals from serious sickness and hospitalization. 9Kirzinger noted her foundation has carried out public opinion studies on the issue. She said the top reason vaccinated people gave for rejecting more vaccinations was the belief that people were protected from the virus because of earlier shots or infections. 10The two largest COVID-19 vaccine makers - Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna - have predicted far less demand this autumn for the shots. Last year, vaccine sales by Pfizer and Moderna reached a combined $56 billion worldwide. This year, experts estimate the shots will bring in $20 billion for the companies. 11The COVID-19 public health emergency officially ended in May. Since then, the government has handed over much of the vaccination effort to private companies. More than 1.1 million people in the United States have died from COVID, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. 12The CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are considering for approval the final versions of the new vaccine. CDC Director Mandy Cohen said last week she expects the shots to be launched during the third or fourth week of September. 13I'm Bryan Lynn. 14Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 15____________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17foundation - n. an organization established for the purpose of giving money to other organizations for particular purposes 18_________________________________________________ 19What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 20Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here