On Sept. 12, President Biden announced that the FDA and CDC have authorized, approved, and recommended the updated Covid booster for everyone 6 months and older.

We mentioned a few weeks ago that the White House planned to roll out a new vaccine for the fall, and it looks like they're right on track.  This latest booster is supposed to protect against the XBB variants of Omicron.

How do the CDC classifications work?

The CDC has classified the XBB variants as Variants Being Monitored (VBM) at the current time. The most worrisome strains are variants of high consequence (VOHC), then Variants of Concern (VOC), Variants of Interest (VOI), and at the bottom, VBM.

So what does this mean? 

It means even the CDC admits the variants currently making the rounds aren't particularly dangerous.  In fact, NBC news recently ran an article saying doctors are increasingly having difficulty distinguishing the new variants from a common cold.

But this didn't stop former Covid czar, Dr. Ashish Jha, from going on The Today Show last week to promote the newest shot.  He compares getting an annual Covid shot to getting an annual flu shot, explaining that since the viruses causing respiratory illness mutate so quickly, they need to produce updated vaccines corresponding to the circulating variant every year.  In fact, he recommends getting your Covid shot along with your annual flu shot.