As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, so has the language surrounding vaccine recommendations. Initially, health authorities encouraged Americans to receive “booster” shots to enhance their protection against the virus as immunity waned and new variants emerged. However, with the rollout of an updated vaccine formula for the fall, officials are shifting away from the term “booster.”
Instead, healthcare professionals and health departments are adopting the terminology of the “2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine” or simply the “updated COVID-19 vaccine” for this year’s recommended shots. Despite these new recommendations, the term “booster” lingers in some places.
Virtually all Americans aged 6 months and older are now advised to receive a dose of the updated shots from Moderna or Pfizer, regardless of their prior vaccination status. Dr. Keipp Talbot, a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee, noted the challenge of moving away from the term “booster” because it has become ingrained in public discourse.
Talbot, speaking at a webinar hosted by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, drew a parallel between COVID and influenza, suggesting that COVID will require annual vaccinations like the flu. Influenza vaccines change each year to match new strains, and the same approach is now being applied to COVID.
The shift in terminology stems from a proposal initially supported by a panel of the Food and Drug Administration’s external advisors in January. The goal was to simplify the schedule of authorized and approved COVID-19 vaccines, which had become complex due to various primary and booster doses targeted at different virus strains and age groups.
In April, the FDA took steps to simplify the regimen by phasing out the original vaccine versions and eliminating the distinction between “primary series” and “booster” doses for most people. When the FDA recently authorized and approved the latest vaccine formulation for the XBB.1.5 virus strain, they deliberately avoided using the term “booster” in their press release.
An FDA spokesperson clarified that these vaccines should not be considered “boosters” but rather updated with a new formulation for the upcoming 2023-2024 fall and winter seasons. Federal authorities, including the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services, have followed suit, refraining from using the term “booster” in their announcements.
Even though the terminology has evolved, the word “booster” still appears on various official pages, including the United Kingdom’s “autumn vaccine booster” campaign and some state and local health department press releases in the United States. Dr. Talbot acknowledged the challenge of changing the terminology but emphasized that these shots are no longer boosters but the current vaccines for the year.