"Study Suggests Annual COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Similar to Flu Shot"

A new study from Yale's Centre for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis suggests that an annual COVID-19 vaccination program, including booster shots, may be necessary to prevent hospitalization and death, as well as to reduce healthcare costs. The study compared different annual vaccination strategies and found that a single dose followed by a booster for those over 50 and under two years was the most effective. This supports a proposal by the US FDA for a population-wide annual vaccine program with booster doses for specific age groups. The researchers anticipate that COVID-19 will follow seasonal patterns similar to influenza, and widespread vaccination before seasonal peaks could help reduce the disease burden.