Many people have had COVID-19, have it right now or will get it, health experts say. So, new questions around the virus and when vaccines are appropriate after becoming sick are now at the forefront.

Dr. Vanessa Walker, a pulmonary and critical care physician with the Pulmonary Medicine Associates in Sacramento, California, spoke to sister station KCRA 3 to answer those questions.

Q: If you catch the virus after you have had your original vaccines, but before a booster, do you have to wait to get the booster?

Dr. Walker: "If you’re feeling better, your symptoms have resolved, and you’re outside your isolation window, go get that booster."

Q: How long do people have to wait between their last original dose of the vaccine and the booster?

Dr. Walker: "Five months for people who received both doses of either Pfizer or Moderna, and two months for those who received Johnson and Johnson."

Q: If you catch COVID-19 after having your original vaccine(s) do you need a booster?

Dr. Walker: "You may not be as protected after getting sick as you think you are and could get it again."

Q: Do you think COVID-19 is something that will ever ‘go away’?

Dr. Walker: "I will be shocked if this is stopped, I don’t see this as going away."

Dr. Walker went on to explain she sees the coronavirus as something that will be with the population indefinitely but not on a pandemic level, and will be more like the flu with ebbs and flows over time.

Oregon Health and Science University found recent data proving those with the strongest immunity against COVID-19 are people who have 'hybrid immunity,' according to Dr. Walker.

Hybrid immunity is when a person is vaccinated and becomes ill with the virus, or when a person becomes ill with the virus and then becomes vaccinated. Those with hybrid immunity have shown great promise according to Dr. Walker; noting it does not matter in which order a person becomes 'hybrid immune.'

She does say, super-spreader events are still possible, vaccinated or not.

"The question is are we trying to stop all COVID, or are we just trying to stop COVID that’s killing people and I feel like that’s ultimately going to be what we need to do," Dr. Walker asked.

She followed that question by concluding, "we’re not going to be able to stop people from getting sick, we just need to make sure if they get sick it’s a cold and it’s not that big of a deal and they’re not filling up hospitals and dying."

The U.S. is urging that everyone 12 and older get a COVID-19 booster as soon as they're eligible, to help fight back the hugely contagious omicron mutant that's ripping through the country.

Boosters already were encouraged for all Americans 16 and older, but Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed an extra Pfizer shot for younger teens — those 12 to 15 — and strengthened its recommendation that 16- and 17-year-olds get it, too.

"It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC's director, said in a statement Wednesday night.

"This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDC's COVID-19 vaccine recommendations," she said.

Vaccines still offer strong protection against serious illness from any type of COVID-19, including omicron — what experts say is their most important benefit. But the newest mutant can slip past a layer of the vaccines' protection to cause milder infections. Studies show a booster dose at least temporarily revs up virus-fighting antibodies to levels that offer the best chance at avoiding symptomatic infection, even from omicron.

Earlier Wednesday, the CDC's independent scientific advisers wrestled with whether a booster should be an option for younger teens, who tend not to get as sick from COVID-19 as adults, or more strongly recommended.

Giving teens a booster for a temporary jump in protection against infections is like playing whack-a-mole, cautioned CDC adviser Dr. Sarah Long of Drexel University. But she said the extra shot was worth it to help push back the omicron mutant and shield kids from the missed school and other problems that come with even a very mild case of COVID-19.

More important, if a child with a mild infection spreads it to a more vulnerable parent or grandparent who then dies, the impact "is absolutely crushing," said panelist Dr. Camille Kotton of Massachusetts General Hospital.

"Let's whack this one down," agreed Dr. Jamie Loehr of Cayuga Family Medicine in Ithaca, New York.

The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech is the only option for American children of any age. The CDC says about 13.5 million children ages 12 to 17 — slightly more than half of that age group — have received two Pfizer shots. Boosters were opened to the 16- and 17-year-olds last month.

Wednesday's decision means about 5 million of the younger teens who had their last shot in the spring are eligible for a booster right away. New U.S. guidelines say anyone who received two Pfizer vaccinations and is eligible for a booster can get it five months after their last shot, rather than the six months previously recommended.

But one committee member, Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, worried that such a strong recommendation for teen boosters would distract from getting shots into the arms of kids who have not been vaccinated at all.

The advisers saw U.S. data making clear that symptomatic COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are between seven and 11 times higher in unvaccinated adolescents than vaccinated ones.

While children do tend to suffer less serious illness from COVID-19 than adults, child hospitalizations are rising during the omicron wave — the vast majority of them unvaccinated.

During the public comment part of Wednesday's meeting, Dr. Julie Boom of Texas Children's Hospital said a booster recommendation for younger teens "cannot come soon enough."

The chief safety question for adolescents is a rare side effect called myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation seen mostly in younger men and teen boys who get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The vast majority of cases are mild — far milder than the heart inflammation COVID-19 can cause — and they seem to peak in older teens, those 16 and 17.

The FDA decided a booster dose was as safe for the younger teens as the older ones based largely on data from 6,300 12- to 15-year-olds in Israel who got a Pfizer booster five months after their second dose. Israeli officials said Wednesday that they've seen two cases of mild myocarditis in this age group after giving more boosters, 40,000.

Earlier this week, FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said the side effect occurs in about 1 in 10,000 men and boys ages 16 to 30 after their second shot. But he said a third dose appears less risky, by about a third, probably because more time has passed before the booster than between the first two shots.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters as it confronts the omicron surge, with the Food and Drug Administration allowing extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12.

Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older, and federal regulators on Monday decided they’re also warranted for 12- to 15-year-olds once enough time has passed since their last dose.

But the move, coming as classes restart after the holidays, isn’t the final step. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must decide whether to recommend boosters for the younger teens. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s director, is expected to rule later this week.

The FDA also said everyone 12 and older eligible for a booster can get one as early as five months after their last dose rather than six months.

Vaccines still offer strong protection against serious illness from any type of COVID-19. But health authorities are urging everyone who’s eligible to get a booster dose for their best chance at avoiding milder breakthrough infections from the highly contagious omicron mutant.

Children tend to suffer less serious illness from COVID-19 than adults. But child hospitalizations are rising during the omicron wave — most of them unvaccinated.

The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech is the only U.S. option for children of any age. About 13.5 million 12- to 17-year-olds — just over half that age group — have received two Pfizer shots, according to the CDC.

For families hoping to keep their children as protected as possible, the booster age limit raised questions.

The older teens, 16- and 17-year-olds, became eligible for boosters in early December. But original vaccinations opened for the younger teens, those 12 to 15, back in May. That means those first in line in the spring, potentially millions, are about as many months past their last dose as the slightly older teens.

As for even younger children, kid-size doses for 5- to 11-year-olds rolled out more recently, in November — and experts say healthy youngsters should be protected after their second dose for a while. But the FDA also said Monday that if children that young have severely weakened immune systems, they will be allowed a third dose 28 days after their second. That’s the same third-dose timing already recommended for immune-compromised teens and adults.

Pfizer is studying its vaccine, in even smaller doses, for children younger than 5.

Vaccine advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously, 11-0, Friday to recommend booster doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for all adults in the United States — everyone 18 and older — six months after they finish their first two doses.

Video above: Doctor on why healthy people should get COVID-19 booster shot now

Members of Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also voted on a second question, strengthening the recommendation to say that people 50 and older should get a booster dose of vaccine.

The votes follow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision earlier Friday to authorize boosters of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for all adults.

Previously, boosters had been authorized for anyone 65 and older who was vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least six months ago and for certain adults at high risk of infection or of severe disease.

"Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA has worked to make timely public health decisions as the pandemic evolves. COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be the best and highly effective defense against COVID-19. Authorizing the use of a single booster dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older helps to provide continued protection against COVID-19, including the serious consequences that can occur, such as hospitalization and death," Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement.

Recent real-world studies suggested that immunity from COVID-19 vaccines begins to wane and protection against milder and asymptomatic disease, in particular, may drop. Studies have shown that booster doses restore that immunity.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also told CNN this week that recent data from Israel show that, among people age 60 and older, those who received a booster were less likely to become severely ill than vaccinated people who had not received a booster. Rates of severe disease remained highest among those who weren't vaccinated.

Boosters can officially be administered to all adults after CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signs off on a recommendation.

However, the majority of adults are already eligible to receive boosters, and several states officially opened up boosters to all adults already.

'Everyone is eligible'

Expanding booster eligibility to all adults in the United States may not change the logistics around getting shots into arms.

The vaccine supply for boosters is already in place in many places. There are no "extra steps" on the administration side of the booster rollout that need to happen, Adriane Casalotti, chief of government and public affairs at the National Association of County and City Health Officials, told CNN.

"Looking national, we have enough vaccine. There are lots of places that have appointments. Obviously, that varies a little bit depending upon where you live geographically because there's more demand in some areas than others," Casalotti told CNN.

"But that being said, I think the main preparation is on the communication side," Casalotti added. "The communication for the local health care providers and public health departments is that now you don't have to worry about eligibility if someone asks if they need to get a booster. This is the information — everyone is eligible after six months."

More than 32 million people in the United States — about 16% of those who are fully vaccinated — have received a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC data.

About 18 million seniors have received a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC data, accounting for more than half of all booster doses administered and increasing the immune response for more than a third of fully vaccinated seniors.

The future of boosters

The U.S. is now averaging 94,943 new COVID-19 cases each day, according to Johns Hopkins University — a 31% increase over last week and back to levels last seen more than a month ago. Midwestern states account for more than a third (38%) of new cases.

There's concern that winter weather that drives people indoors and holiday gatherings could lead to even more cases.

"We certainly want people to be as well protected as they could possibly be going into the season," said Dr. Marci Drees, chief infection prevention officer and hospital epidemiologist for Delaware-based ChristianaCare.

Drees is a Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America liaison to the CDC's vaccine advisory committee.

"I think we're at the point now where for lots of people who were vaccinated last winter and spring, now would be the time that their protection is waning," she said.

Once people do receive their COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, it's not clear when they might need another vaccine dose — if ever.

"That certainly is the million-dollar question. We know that the boosters boost people's immunity back up to that 90% to 95% range in the short term. We don't know how long that will last," Drees said.

"In some ways, we're forging a new path — and a lot of it is driven by can we get enough immunity in the population so that we can really shut down further transmission," Drees said. "We know that boosters are not going to end the pandemic. They will help and prevent people from getting sick, but we really still need to push on getting first and second doses into people as well."

People looking to boost their COVID-19 vaccinations have surpassed the number of people looking to begin them and the additional doses may soon be made available to a greater proportion of the U.S.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 1.3 times as many boosters administered each day than first shots.

And the number could grow, as the CDC's vaccine advisory committee meets Wednesday to weigh approval for mixing and matching boosters as well as booster doses for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

Up until this week, only the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for use as a booster for certain high-risk groups who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago.

But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorized booster doses of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and said any of the three authorized vaccines could be used as a booster in a "mix and match approach" for eligible individuals.

Thursday's meeting will decide which groups the CDC recommends the boosters for. Typically, shots can be administered once the CDC director signs off on the recommendation.

The FDA could also soon lower the age range on its emergency use authorizations for booster shots for coronavirus vaccines once more safety data comes in, officials told reporters Wednesday.

"We want to make sure that if we deploy the boosters in all of the age ranges, that we truly are making a benefit outweigh any risk," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's vaccine arm, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said. "We will not hesitate to drop this age range as we see this benefit outweigh the risk, and because of the EUA authority that we have, we can do that in a relatively quick amount of time."

Health experts have said that vaccination is the key to controlling the spread of COVID-19, and many are still encouraging more Americans to get their first doses.

But evidence suggests that immunity from full vaccination can wane, which drove the need to authorize booster doses of coronavirus vaccine, acting FDA commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said Wednesday.

"To date, the currently available data suggest waning immunity in some populations of fully vaccinated people," Woodcock told reporters during a telephone briefing.

"And the availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against COVID-19 disease," she added. "The actions we have taken ... help address this waning immunity."

Vaccinating children will play a "major role" in controlling the pandemic

Young children are still not eligible for even their first doses, but experts say their protection will be key to bringing the pandemic under control.

Currently, only adolescents as young as 12 are eligible for vaccines, but data has been submitted to the FDA for doses for children 5-11.

About 28 million children 5-11 could soon become eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if the FDA authorizes shots for this age group and if the CDC recommends it.

Getting most children vaccinated against COVID-19 will "play a major role" in slowing the spread of disease and pushing the nation closer to herd immunity, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday.

"In the era of delta, children get infected as readily as adults do. And they transmit the infection as readily as adults do. We may not appreciate that, because about 50% of the infections in children are asymptomatic," Fauci told a White House COVID-19 briefing.

"If we can get the overwhelming majority of those 28 million children vaccinated, I think that would play a major role in diminishing the spread of infection in the community," said Fauci, who is chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"That's one of the reasons why we want to do as best as we can to get those children from 5 to 11 vaccinated."

And when they do roll out, the U.S. surgeon general said he wants to make vaccines available to children as soon as possible.

"That preparation takes planning, it takes time, and that's why we've been working very hard to do a few things over the last several weeks to months," Dr. Vivek Murthy said on NBC's Today.

Pandemic plummeted attendance rates for homeless students

Although children have not had the highest rates of infection, they have faced many of the pandemic's impacts. And for children without homes, there have been even more barriers.

Attendance rates of homeless students in New York City public schools have dropped significantly amid the pandemic, according to a study released this week by the Advocates for Children of New York.

The study, which used attendance data from the NYC Department of Education (DOE), documented that the average attendance rate of students in shelter during the first couple of weeks of the winter semester was only 73%. The year-to-date attendance rate for students in shelters is 78.5%, according to the DOE.

There are especially high rates of absenteeism at the high school level, according to the study. Tenth graders "missed more than one out of every three school days in winter and spring 2021, while 9th, 11th, and 12th graders in shelter were absent more than 25% of the time," according to the advocacy group.

The study shows that even prior to the pandemic, the average attendance rate for New York City students living in shelters during the 2019-20 school year was only 83.2%, compared to 92.2% for permanently housed students. COVID-19 only added new barriers.

"High rates of absenteeism in winter and spring 2021 point to a particular need for support for students living in shelter as schools reopen this year," the study says.

The non-profit organization recommended that the DOE should use federal COVID-19 relief funds to hire 150 shelter-based DOE community coordinators as a start to "overhaul the education support system in shelters." Community coordinators are typically responsible for providing support and resources to help students get to school.

"If we want to break the cycle of family homelessness, the city must address barriers to attendance for students in shelter," Jennifer Pringle, Director of Advocates for Children's Learners in Temporary Housing project said. "Fortunately, the DOE is in a position to tackle barriers to attendance for students in shelters with the tens of millions of dollars in federal American Rescue Plan Act — Homeless funds it is poised to receive."

According to the New York City DOE, it is in the process of planning for the use of federal money to expand staffing. There are currently 324 DOE personnel in direct contact with homeless students and their families daily, according to the department.

As the U.S. tries to bring COVID-19 under control before a potential winter spike, health experts are encouraging vulnerable people to get a booster vaccine dose. So far, about 15% of seniors have done so.

Overall, about 10.7 million people have received a booster shot — and more than half were people over 65, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recommended booster doses for people who are most vulnerable, including those 65 and older, those at high risk of severe disease and those who live or work in high-risk environments.

Pfizer was given emergency use authorization for a booster dose last month for certain people who are at least six months out from their initial two doses. And the nation's health advisers are now looking at approving EUA for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters.

"(The extremely vulnerable) are recommended to get a booster shot," said CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen. "But even with a booster, they might not prevent severe outcomes and this is the reason why we have to be vaccinated."

Strong immune protection from vaccination is the best way to stave off infection and control the pandemic. But the effort to increase protection with boosters is happening as the nation is still struggling to entice a substantial percentage of the population to be fully vaccinated.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said the vast majority of the U.S. will need to be vaccinated to control the spread of the virus, but that number is only now at around 57% of the total population.

On Monday, there was heightened focus on the importance of vaccinations after news that former Secretary of State Colin Powell had died due to COVID-19 complications.

Powell, 84, had multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells that suppresses the body's immune response, as well as Parkinson's, Peggy Cifrino, Powell's longtime chief of staff, told CNN. He was fully vaccinated and was scheduled to get a booster dose this week, but his health condition put him at greater risk.

Powell's death should not be taken as a sign that the vaccines are insufficient, Wen said, but rather as evidence that more of the population needs to be vaccinated to protect those who are older and medically fragile.

"Yes, the vaccine does protect you, but it protects you even better is everyone around you is vaccinated," Wen said. "We get vaccinated as healthy people in part to protect the most vulnerable among us."

And breakthrough cases, like that of Powell, are rare but expected, as no vaccine is 100% effective.

A total of 7,178 breakthrough cases that have resulted in death have been reported to the CDC through Oct. 12. By that time, more than 187 million people in the U.S. were fully vaccinated. That's one out of every 26,000 fully vaccinated people that has died of COVID-19, or 0.004%.

Of those breakthrough cases resulting in death, 85% were among people age 65 and older and 57% were among men, according to the CDC.

For those looking to strengthen their immune response with a booster dose, mixing and matching vaccines may soon become an option.

People familiar with the FDA's planning told the New York Times the agency is planning to allow people to receive a different COVID-19 vaccine as a booster shot than the one they initially received.

According to the Times, the FDA might note that getting the same vaccine as a booster is preferable, but it would not recommend one shot over the other.

New Mexico under crisis standards of care

COVID-19 hospitalizations have been on the decline nationally, but some regions are still overwhelmed.

Seven states have less than 15% of ICU beds available, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. Those states are Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas.

In New Mexico, the department of health has had to enact crisis standards of care.

According to a press release from the NMDH, hospitals will now have to temporarily suspend non-medically necessary procedures before having to decide who should receive care.

"Because of COVID, New Mexico hospitals and health care facilities have carried an unmanageable burden. Today, the state is offering clarity and support as providers seek to make difficult choices about how to allocate scarce -- and precious -- health care resources," said DOH Acting Secretary David R. Scrase, M.D. "The goals, as always, remain the same: to save as many New Mexican lives as possible, and to help sustain the health care providers who have sustained our communities throughout this entire pandemic."

On Monday, state health officials announced 1,895 new cases bringing the total number of cases in the state since the pandemic began to 265,632. There are currently 300 patients in the hospital being treated for COVID-19.

Vaccine mandates implemented for police departments

To increase vaccinations — and, in turn, control spread — many employers have begun mandating vaccinations for their employees.

In Washington state, members of Seattle's police department had until the end of Monday to be vaccinated or receive an exemption.

As of Monday night, 91% of the police force had shown proof of vaccination and 7% presented exemptions, leaving only 2% of the department having not submitted their vaccination status.

"For officers who haven't turned in any verification paperwork by midnight tonight, they are not to report for work tomorrow and the City and department will begin the process for termination for failing to follow the vaccine mandate guidelines," SPD spokesperson Randy Huserik told CNN.

The state has also implemented vaccine mandates for state employees, and some are choosing to leave their jobs instead of complying.

In videos uploaded by a YouTube conservative radio host in the Seattle area, two state troopers were among those state employees citing Governor Jay Inslee's vaccination mandate as the reason for their leave.

One of them, 17-year veteran Sgt. Richard Thompson, can be seen inside his patrol car signing off from his duties and saying, "Due to my personal choice to take a moral stand against, for medical freedom and personal choice, I will be signing out of service for the last time today."

Separately, Washington State University announced that head football coach Nick Rolovich, as well as assistant football coaches Ricky Logo, John Richardson, Craig Stutzmann and Mark Weber, are no longer able to coach because of not complying with the state's vaccine mandate.

CINCINNATI —

The booster roll-out is picking up steam, but many are still unclear about the guidelines determining who is eligible, especially when it comes to defining the “at-risk” occupations.

“For everyone who has a job that puts them at risk, it’s self-attestation. The CDC offers some guidance, but certainly, anyone who feels their job puts them at risk is eligible,” said Hamilton County Health commissioner Greg Kesterman.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines approved by the Ohio Department of Health list certain occupations like healthcare workers, first responders and teachers, but others are left up for interpretation.

“We want people who feel like they need to get vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, to have access to it. So, all of our clinics are asking the questions provided by the Ohio Department of Health and we’re providing access,” Kesterman said.

Some of the guidelines from the CDC are more clear than others.

Anyone who wants a booster must have had both shots of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago.

Anyone over the age of 65 is eligible. Anyone who is aged 18 to 64 with underlying medical conditions is eligible, among others.

The booster program comes as many employers are enforcing vaccine mandates and vaccine approval for kids ages 5 to 11 is expected by the end of October.

Despite that, Kesterman did not expect any problems with vaccine supply.

Health experts are reinforcing the point that full vaccination remains highly effective against severe illness and death caused by COVID-19 as federal regulators consider the possibility of authorizing a third dose in the upcoming weeks.

"What's the goal of this vaccine? The stated goal by (Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky) and others is to prevent serious infection, and all the data today, published by the CDC, presented by the CDC, is it's done exactly that," Dr. Paul Offit, a top vaccine expert and U.S. Food and Drug Administration adviser said Friday.

"There's been no evidence of clear erosion of protection against serious disease," he said.

The conversation around vaccines has fluctuated because health experts are learning new information about the coronavirus and its variants.

But amid the debate, experts are consistent in noting the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.

"Remember, even the current doses of vaccines still protect you so well from hospitalization and death. We are not back in early 2020 or even early 2021 for those of us that have not received boosters yet. We are still protected against the worst effects of this virus," Dr. Megan Ranney, professor of emergency medicine at Brown University, told CNN on Friday.

A CNN analysis of CDC data from last month suggests that more than 99.99% of fully vaccinated people have not had a breakthrough case of COVID-19 resulting in hospitalization or death.

And it's because of such a high degree of protection that Offit emphasized that America can make significant headway against the pandemic by simply vaccinating the unvaccinated.

He added that the federal government's messaging on booster shots has been confusing and frustrating.

"It's confusing to people. I've had a number of calls and emails from people saying, 'Wait, so I'm not fully protected anymore?'" Offit said.

"I think the message that should come out right now is if you received two doses of mRNA vaccines, you have a very high chance of not having serious infection, and that that has lasted up until the present moment, that you should consider yourself protected against serious illness."

Roughly 62.2% of the U.S. population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while about 52.9% is fully vaccinated, CDC data shows. Of the 10 states with the worst COVID-19 case rates over the past week, seven of them also had among the 10 best vaccination rates, according to the agency.

Plan for booster shots is 'confusing people,' top FDA official says

The FDA is set to meet Sept. 17 to discuss COVID-19 booster shots. Last month, the White House said people who got the two mRNA vaccines — the two-shot vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna — may receive boosters starting Sept. 20.

However, on Thursday, FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said the administration still doesn't have enough safety data on booster shots.

"Why would you announce this? Well, we need to have a plan and the plan would involve the vaccination of very large numbers of people in the United States with a booster dose," Woodcock told Dr. John Whyte of WebMD during a virtual interview published online Thursday.

"We have to make a plan somewhat before we have all the data and I think that, John, is what's confusing people," Woodcock said.

"The trends that we're seeing in resistance to the virus in fully immunized people lend us to believe that at some point we're going to cross that threshold and we're going to see hospitalizations and more serious disease and when that happens, we want to be ready," Woodcock told Whyte.

To be sure, White House officials announced that the booster rollout would be subject to the green light from the FDA and sign-off from the CDC. Woodcock said on Thursday that data already shows some waning immunity among vaccinated people.

On Friday, officials told CNN there have been conversations within the Biden administration about scaling back the booster plan due to concerns the FDA might only be prepared to recommend boosters for people who had the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, the agency doesn't have enough data on Moderna to make that recommendation, an official told CNN.

Pfizer/BioNTech applied for a booster shot FDA approval last month, and Moderna said it applied Wednesday.

Florida sees decline in Covid-19 cases

Meanwhile, there was some good news from Florida, which broke its own record for new COVID-19 cases multiple times last month. Over the past week, there was a decline in cases, according to data published Friday by the state health department.

The state averaged about 18,463 daily new cases last week, equivalent to 588.1 new cases per 100,000 people each day between Aug. 27 and Sept. 2. That is a drop from the prior week, when the average of daily new cases was 21,678.

Florida has fully vaccinated slightly more than half of its population, according to CDC data.

Meanwhile, the mask mandate feud between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and public school districts continues. DeSantis has been sparring with school officials for weeks because he banned mask mandates in schools, but some implemented them anyway.

Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran sent individual letters to nine districts demanding the districts "document how your district is complying with Florida Department of Health emergency rule" as part of a non-compliance investigation. He also threatened to withhold state funds if districts did not fully comply with DeSantis' order to include a parent opt-out in school mask mandate policies.

CNN has confirmed all nine districts have now responded to Corcoran's Aug. 27 letter.

They argued they are in compliance with Florida law and consider the mandate a necessity for health and safety. Some of the districts also mentioned last week's ruling by a Florida judge that indicated DeSantis does not have the authority to make a blanket ban on mask mandates. DeSantis on Thursday filed a notice to appeal the judge's ruling.

Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that new data from early trials of a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine provides a "rapid and robust increase in spike-binding antibodies" that fight off the virus.

In a press release, the company noted that the antibody response provided by the single-shot vaccine was "strong and stable" eight months later. However, eyes are turning to booster shots as widespread vaccine use nears the one-year mark.

In its press release, Johnson & Johnson noted that a person who gets a booster shot saw a nine-fold increase in antibodies when compared to antibody response 28 days after an initial dose.

"With these new data, we also see that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responses among study participants who had previously received our vaccine," said Dr. Mathai Mammen, the global head of Janssen Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson. "We look forward to discussing with public health officials a potential strategy for our Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, boosting eight months or longer after the primary single-dose vaccination."

Earlier this month, top federal health officials recommended that Americans seek out a COVID-19 booster shot eight months after full vaccination. The booster shot program is slated to begin Sept. 20, pending approval from the Food & Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In issuing a recommendation for booster shots, officials said that while all COVID-19 vaccines remain extremely effective in preventing instances of severe infection or death from the virus, there has been some data to show that those vaccinated are more susceptible to mild cases of the virus eight months after vaccination. They've also seen evidence that those vaccinated are more susceptible to unknowingly spreading the virus as time goes on.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was granted emergency use authorization in late February, meaning booster shots for those who received the J&J vaccine would be available in late October if the FDA and the CDC ultimately approve them.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine still only has emergency use approval from the FDA. Earlier this week, the agency granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine — the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive such a designation.

CINCINNATI —

New research by scientists in Cincinnati is looking at whether different Food and Drug Administration emergency-approved COVID-19 vaccines can be mixed if there’s a need for boosters.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is researching the possibility of using the mRNA Moderna vaccine as a booster for the one-shot DNA Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Children’s Hospital will soon be looking at other combinations of approved vaccines too.

“We know people are going to go do this, so we want to have data to inform the community. It may not be the greatest idea, or maybe it looks fine, it doesn’t cause any problems,” said Dr. Robert Frenck of Children’s Hospital.

Frenck led the Pfizer vaccine research at Children’s and is now leading the research on COVID-19 vaccines for children. He’s also part of the new research into boosters and combining vaccine platforms.

Frenck said there are lots of unknowns about mixing vaccines for boosters right now.

“Does that make any difference in the side effects? Does it have any effect in their immune response? Does it go up compared with people who stayed with the same vaccine?” Frenck said.

Another series of studies are being done by the global company CTI, headquartered in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

CTI is studying a Johnson & Johnson vaccine with a Johnson & Johnson booster.

Another important question is if boosters will be needed at all.

Frenck said the most current data shows the vaccines are as effective at six months as they were at two months.

“We were concerned that the vaccine would only last a few months and we would need a booster. Right now, if things stay the way they are, we may not need one,” Frenck said.

CNN —

Video above: Moderna CEO discusses vaccine boosters, COVID-19 varriants

As experts grow concerned about a possible COVID-19 surge in the winter, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may roll out seasonal vaccine boosters.

"We want to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst," CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told actress Jennifer Garner in an interview streamed on Instagram.

More than a third of the U.S. is fully vaccinated against coronavirus, but it's still short of the benchmark of 70% to 85% of the total population that needs to be immune -- through vaccination or previous infection -- to control its spread.

And many yet to receive the vaccine are those who have not decided whether they want it or have decided against it.

Meanwhile variants have been spreading, threatening to mutate to a point where current vaccines may not offer enough protection against them, experts warn.

Researchers at the CDC are looking into whether a booster specific to variants that are already in the U.S. will be needed as well as if protection from the virus fades over time, Walensky said.

"We are doing the studies on boosters to see if we will need them, and that is six months, one year, two years -- we don't really know," Walensky said. "But we want to be prepared for them should we need them."

If the U.S. does need them, officials have processes already in place to get them out.

"The vision would be that we would do it in the same way that we do flu vaccine," she said. "We hope we don't have to do it every season, but we're preparing in case we do."

Conflict over asking about vaccination status

Health experts have hailed vaccination as the ticket back to a sense of normalcy, but officials have come up against conflicts over who can monitor vaccination decisions.

Wyoming is the latest state to prohibit state agencies from asking people whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Under a directive signed Friday by Gov. Mark Gordon, the state boards and agencies are ordered to "provide full access to state spaces and state services, regardless of a constituent's COVID-19 vaccination status."

"Vaccine passport programs have the potential to politicize a decision that should not be politicized," Gordon said in a written statement. The press release notes that the governor has been vaccinated and encourages the residents of his state to voluntarily be vaccinated.

Unlike a similar order signed by the governor of Florida, the Wyoming directive is only mandatory for the state government.

However, it says local governments and private businesses "are encouraged" to follow Gordon's directive.

Florida's law prohibits businesses from asking whether employees or customers have been vaccinated.

The CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. said Thursday it could cause the company to suspend Florida departures and move its ships elsewhere.

"At the end of the day, cruise ships have motors, propellers and rudders, and God forbid we can't operate in the state of Florida for whatever reason, then there are other states that we do operate from, and we can operate from the Caribbean for a ship that otherwise would have gone to Florida," CEO Frank Del Rio said during the company's quarterly earnings call.

"In Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision," Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

Expanding vaccine authorization

Meanwhile, vaccine manufacturers are preparing for the long haul.

Pfizer/BioNTech, whose vaccine currently has an emergency use authorization, announced the initiation of its application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for full FDA approval for people ages 16 and older.

This would be the first COVID-19 vaccine to be assessed for full approval from the FDA.

"We are proud of the tremendous progress we've made since December in delivering vaccines to millions of Americans, in collaboration with the U.S. Government," Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the FDA to complete this rolling submission and support their review, with the goal of securing full regulatory approval of the vaccine in the coming months."

The FDA is already poised to authorize the company's vaccine in children and teens ages 12 to 15 by early next week, a federal government official told CNN.

The vaccine also has been undergoing a safety and efficacy study in children ages 6 months to 11 years, and the company said it expects to submit for FDA emergency use authorization for children ages 2 to 11 in September.

CDC warns of airborne risk

On Friday, the CDC updated it explanations on how coronavirus is transmitted to stress that inhalation is the main way the virus is spread and placing less emphasis on the risk of picking it up from surfaces.

"COVID-19 spreads when an infected person breathes out droplets and very small particles that contain the virus. These droplets and particles can be breathed in by other people or land on their eyes, noses, or mouth. In some circumstances, they may contaminate surfaces they touch. People who are closer than 6 feet from the infected person are most likely to get infected," the agency says on its updated website. The CDC also updated its scientific brief on how the virus spreads.

"This is not new guidance. This is the beginning of how, perhaps, guidance will begin to evolve," Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer for the CDC's COVID-19 response, told CNN.

It doesn't change what people need to do, but might help the public better understand how the virus spreads, Brooks said.

The guidance remains the same -- wear a mask when near other people or inside and sharing air with others, keep a distance from others when possible and wash hands frequently.