FILE – A nurse prepares a syringe of a COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., July 19, 2022. U.S. health officials are proposing a simplified approach to COVID-19 vaccinations, which would allow most adults and children to get a once-a-year shot to protect against the mutating virus. The new system unveiled Monday, Jan. 23, 2023 would make COVID-19 inoculations more like the annual flu shot. Americans would no longer have to keep track of how many shots they’ve received or how many months it’s been since their last booster. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials want to make COVID-19 vaccinations more like the annual flu shot. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday proposed a simplified approach so that most adults and children would get a once-a-year shot. Americans would no longer have to keep track of how many shots they’ve received or when. The proposal comes as boosters have become a hard sell. The FDA is asking a panel of outside vaccine experts to weigh in on the new approach at a meeting Thursday. The agency will present data suggesting most Americans have enough protection to move to a once-a-year shots.