Some public health experts hope that Americans will welcome the new shot as they would a flu jab.
In the fall of 2022, by which time most people had either had the COVID virus or the vaccine, fewer than 50 million people got the shots.
Its biggest rival, Moderna, conceded demand could be as few as 50 million shots.
POST PANDEMIC VACCINEThe COVID public health emergency ended in May and the government has handed much of the duty of vaccinating America to the private sector.
As with the flu, Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), Moderna (MRNA.O) and Novavax (NVAX.O), have created versions of the COVID vaccine to try to match the variant they believe will be circulating this fall.
Persons:
Dado Ruvic, Ashley Kirzinger, Kirzinger, BioNTech, Jefferies, Michael Yee, " Yee, Mandy Cohen, William Schaffner, Schaffner, David Boulware, Michael Erman, Caroline Humer, Diane Craft
Organizations:
REUTERS, CVS Health, Family, Reuters, Pfizer –, Moderna, Pfizer, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, EG, Vanderbilt University, University of Minnesota, Thomson
Locations:
U.S, America, United States, COVID, CDC's