The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admitted last week that COVID-19 booster shots will not be available until the end of September. Now that there are reports of a late summer COVID-19 wave, the news raises questions about whether the recent COVID variants will be adequately controlled as the world continues to ride out the pandemic.
As the variants that have driven most infections in 2023, the XBB strains, begin to lose their dominance, the current wave is being spurred by variants like EG.5 (nicknamed "Eris") and FL.1.5.1 (nicknamed "Fornax"). Both are descendants from the XBB family. Scientists have expressed some confidence about containing EG.5., also known as Eris, with Novavax, Pfizer and Moderna also saying their vaccines have shown promising results in early trials.
