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With a new strand of Covid, EG.5, nicknamed “Eris,” there of course has to be a new booster shot for you to take.

Eris was first discovered in April. It reportedly contains a mutation that helps it evade antibodies from previous infections or vaccinations. Despite this, the new subvariant does not seem to cause any more severe illness than previous strands and responds to treatment medications.

This new strand of Covid has led to the closing of three school districts across the country.

Because of this, they are working on a new booster shot. The CDC believes that the booster will be available sometime later this month once it is approved by the FDA.

President Joe Biden is already endorsing the new shot.

He endorsed it last week that a new Covid booster shot “works” and is “necessary.” He said he would ask Congress to fund it and “it will likely be recommended that everybody get it no matter whether they’ve gotten it before.” Is this our new drug-approval process? There are no human-outcomes data on this new shot, which the Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve in the next two weeks.

When drugs are passed simply because Congress funds them and the president endorses them, then it eliminates the trust of the public. Why should the people trust a drug, or a booster shot that is not properly tested. Should the American people trust it because the president, who is not a doctor, said it would work?

That is ridiculous.

It is possible that the new booster will lessen the severity of the new Covid strands, but the strands that the new booster shots target do not stick around long and are treatable. Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax released statements about their new booster shots.

The new boosters are supposed to work on the two new dominant variants, the EG.5 and FL. 1.51. The issue is no one knows what the dominant variant will be in the winter. When it is much more common for people to get sick.

To hear Tony Katz’s thoughts on the new Covid booster shot, click the link below.