The late summer Covid spike comes after a quiet year in which hospitalizations and deaths declined week after week since January. "We're living in a bit of a fantasy world where we're pretending Covid is not relevant," Birx told ABC in a podcast interview last week. Birx said those vaccines should have been released weeks ago to combat the predictable summer wave, adding the U.S. should already be developing new shots for January to target the emerging BA.2.86 variant. The updated shots should be effective at reducing severe disease and hospitalization from the variant, according to the agency. The first lady last caught Covid in August 2022 and the president tested positive in July of last year.

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