ASTHO Supports Recommendation for COVID-19 Vaccination for All Individuals Six Months and Older

September 15, 2023

ARLINGTON, VA—The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) supports the recommendation that all Americans aged six months and older receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 continues to circulate across the nation, and vaccine will protect all Americans from severe disease, especially people over age 65 and those with underlying health conditions.

“ASTHO supports the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that all Americans over six months get an updated COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to keep people safe from COVID-19 by preventing serious illness, hospitalization, and death in all age groups that the vaccine has been approved for. Now is the time for communities and families to make the choice to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine,” said Marcus Plescia, MD, MPH, ASTHO’s chief medical officer.

Our nation’s vaccine review process includes careful analysis by the Food and Drug Administration, the Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and recommendations from major medical associations’ guidelines. These processes are robust, have safety at their core, and use the most recent data to evaluate the risks and benefits of vaccinations, including ideal dosage, scheduling, and populations that would benefit most from vaccination.

Millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been safely administered worldwide across a wide range of ages and in individuals with underlying health concerns. These efforts have saved countless lives. ASTHO continues to join with other public health and healthcare professionals across the nation to help people learn about vaccine safety and share how COVID-19 vaccines protect the public.

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.