LEILA FADEL, HOST:
We have other news in public health, a big change coming to COVID-19 vaccines. The Food and Drug Administration just approved the next round of shots, but the agency is imposing new limitations on who is eligible. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein joins us now to talk about this. Good morning, Rob.
ROB STEIN, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: OK, so what are the new restrictions?
STEIN: Well, Leila, until now, the COVID shots were available to anyone ages 6 months and older. But the new updated Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Novavax shots have only been approved for people who are at increased risk of getting really sick from COVID. And that's defined as people who are 65 or older. Anyone younger has to also have other health issues that make COVID especially risky, like, you know, a weak immune system, asthma or maybe, like, heart disease.
FADEL: OK, so why? What's the reason behind limiting who qualifies?
STEIN: So Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other top Trump administration health officials argued that at this point in the pandemic, it's time to rethink how we use the vaccines. They say so many people have so much immunity now that most otherwise healthy people just don't need to keep getting jabbed every year. They also question the safety of the vaccines and how well they work, even though there's plenty of evidence that they're very safe and work very well.
FADEL: So what are public health officials saying about this decision?
STEIN: Well, they're up in arms. You know, people who are critical of the COVID vaccines may be welcoming the changes. But most public health experts I've talked to say, look, many healthy people may not necessarily need to keep getting vaccinated. But they say they should have the option if they want to just to cut the chances of getting sick at all and missing work and school or ending up with long COVID or, you know, spreading the virus to someone else, like grandpa or some other vulnerable loved one. I talked about this with Michael Osterholm. He's at the University of Minnesota.
MICHAEL OSTERHOLM: These vaccines can save lives. We have demonstrated time and time again that they are very important in reducing serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths. And that, in the end, is a very, very powerful tool to be used, not to be restricted. This is unfortunately another disaster waiting to happen.
STEIN: And experts like Osterholm are especially worried about what this means for healthy pregnant women and very young children. The CDC recently dropped recommendations that they get protected even though COVID can still be very dangerous for them.
FADEL: OK. So, Rob, I'm not 65. I don't have an underlying condition.
STEIN: Yeah.
FADEL: If I want the vaccine, can I get it?
STEIN: Well, Leila, for many people like you, this probably means you just won't be able to walk into your local drugstore anymore to get a shot if you don't fall into one of the eligible categories.
FADEL: OK.
STEIN: But you still may be able to get the shots by getting a doctor to prescribe them for you as what's called off-label. But, you know, that would require getting an appointment and taking the time to go see a doctor, which may be just too much of a hassle for a lot of people. And it's also unclear now if insurance will pay for the shots, which aren't cheap. So public health experts worry that all the uncertainty, conflicting messages and hurdles could end up meaning far fewer people getting vaccinated at a time when the number of people still rolling up their sleeves is already pretty low. And remember, COVID is still making lots of people sick and killing between a hundred and 200 Americans every week. In fact, we're in the middle of another summer surge right now. And yet another wave is expected this winter.
FADEL: That's NPR health correspondent Rob Stein. Thank you, Rob.
STEIN: You bet, Leila.
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