With little fanfare, new COVID-19 vaccines are now available
Newly formulated COVID-19 vaccines are available?
You didn’t know that? You’re not alone.
The updated vaccines for COVID-19 started being shipped out in late August with little fanfare, and the shots are designed to combat the XFG variant that is now the dominant strain of the respiratory virus.
Though COVID-19 has faded from the headlines, it is still circulating. Last year, more than 40,000 Americans died as a result of COVID-19 and about 250,000 people were hospitalized. As the prevalence of COVID-19 has waned since 2020 and 2021, the number of people getting a COVID shot annually has declined. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 17% of Americans received the COVID-19 vaccine that was made available for the 2025-26 season.
The latest COVID-19 vaccines that have been given the green light by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been approved for people aged 65 or older and for younger people with a broad range of underlying health conditions, including obesity, asthma, smoking, cancer and physical inactivity.
Most major pharmacy chains, including CVS and Walgreens, are carrying the new COVID-19 vaccine, as are some primary care clinics and doctor’s offices. At independent drugstores, demand and availability has been more spotty.
Kathy Vermilya, co-owner of Washington’s Medicine Shoppe, said her store “hasn’t had a single request for a COVID vaccine,” and since they order vaccines based on demand, they do not have it.
“So many people have decided to not get it,” Vermilya said.
At the McCracken Pharmacy in Waynesburg, owner Scott Adamson said they had the new COVID-19 vaccine, and he said customers might be more interested in getting the shot as October gets closer. Adamson pointed out that people will sometimes combine their COVID-19 and flu shots so they can receive the maximum benefit from the flu shot closer to that season.
“I wouldn’t say there’s a huge amount of interest yet,” Adamson explained.
Curtis Pharmacy in Connellsville has the COVID-19 vaccines, but they have not yet started giving them out, according to Lindsay Flanders, a pharmacist. She also said customers have expressed “not too much interest” in the shots.