Technologies

CDC endorses Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 booster shots for all adults

The CDC’s director has accepted the committee’s recommendation.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

An independent panel that advises the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously Friday to recommend COVID-19 boosters for everyone age 18 and up who received Pfizer’s or Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, at least six months after their second dose. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky endorsed the committee’s expanded booster recommendations shortly after on Friday, making the guidance official.

«Booster shots have demonstrated the ability to safely increase people’s protection against infection and severe outcomes and are an important public health tool to strengthen our defenses against the virus as we enter the winter holidays,» Walensky said in a statement. «Based on the compelling evidence, all adults over 18 should now have equitable access to a COVID-19 booster dose.»

Everyone who received Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine at least two months ago was already eligible for a booster, as well as some vaccinated adults who got Pfizer or Moderna, including people 65 and older, adults with underlying medical conditions, and adults at a high risk of infection due to their job, such as hospital workers, teachers or grocery store workers.

Last month, the FDA and CDC gave the OK for all adults eligible for a booster to «mix and match» and get any of three available COVID-19 vaccines as a booster dose. More than 32 million Americans have already received a COVID-19 booster, according to CDC data.

Earlier on Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration expanded emergency use authorization for both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, clearing the booster doses for all fully vaccinated adults 18 and older. The move opened booster eligibility to millions more people and gave official backing to steps some were already taking.

The CDC committee also voted to strengthen the COVID-19 booster recommendation for individuals age 50 and older. This means the CDC now says someone who is 50 or older «should» get a booster, a younger age than the earlier recommendation that people age 65 or older should get a booster.

In addition to the recommendation everyone over 50 should get a booster, residents of long-term care facilities should also get one. For all other adults age 18 and up, the newest CDC recommendation will be that they can get a booster if they need or want one, after considering their individual benefits and risks.

Experts at the meeting expressed a need to clear up the language in the CDC’s recommendation on who should get a booster. For many adults and their health care providers, the criteria for booster eligibility was confusing and created barriers for people who may really benefit from a booster, they said.

Looking at the CDC’s extensive list of medical conditions for eligibility — which includes common conditions like being overweight, having mood disorders or ever having been a smoker — «it’s almost harder to figure out who’s not eligible,» said Dr. Grace Lee, the committee’s chair. By opening it up to all adults, the message is more clear.

The COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death, but multiple studies show that the effectiveness of vaccines may start to decline after six to eight months.

Prior to Friday, at least 12 states were already encouraging all residents 18 and older to get a booster shot, regardless of their official eligibility.

Technologies

Xbox Game Pass Adds Grounded 2 and Others This Month

Game Pass subscribers will also be able to play the new 90s-inspired horror game Abiotic Factor.

The award-winning, quirky survival game Grounded is like the game version of the classic ’80s comedy film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. And Xbox Game Pass subscribers can get early access to that game’s sequel, Grounded 2, on July 29.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors’ Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription gives you access to a large library of games, with new ones, including Doom: The Dark Ages, added monthly, plus other benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles.

Here are the games Microsoft is bringing to Game Pass soon. You can also check out other games the company added to the service recently, like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4.

RoboCop: Rogue City

Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now.

Serve the public, protect the innocent and uphold the law as the cyborg RoboCop. You’ll investigate crimes in Old Detroit before using your cyborg strength, cybernetic implants and arsenal of weapons to eradicate gangs from the area. This game is a whole new RoboCop story based on the film series, and Peter Weller, the original RoboCop himself, returns to voice the titular character.

My Friendly Neighborhood

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.

Something’s going on with everyone’s favorite Saturday morning puppet show, and it’s up to you to figure out what in this survival horror game. You’ll solve puzzles and use tools and improvised weapons to fend off your multicolored foes. So if you have anything against Barney or Big Bird, you can take out your feelings on them with this game.

Back to the Dawn

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.

This game is like if the series Prison Break took place in the Zootopia universe. You’ll play as either a fox named Thomas or a black panther named Bob as they try to navigate the prison system and escape with their lives. With multiple escape routes and over 100 quests you can complete, you can replay this game numerous times and have a different experience each time.

Abiotic Factor

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 22.

Science meets violence in this 1990s-inspired sci-fi survival game. You and up to five other players can choose your areas of expertise, build your scientist and explore a massive, top-secret underground complex filled with artifacts and supernatural horrors that could tear you limb from limb. And remember, safety, security and secrecy are of the utmost importance… usually.

Wheel World

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 23.

If you want to take a nice, relaxing bike ride, this game is for you. Previously known as Ghost Bike, this game puts you behind the handlebars of one of the last ghost bikes around. These bikes can traverse between the lands of the living and the dead. You can explore these lands at your leisure while you race other riders and upgrade your ride with treasures you find along the way.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 24.

This souls-like RPG is set during the final days of the Ming Dynasty. You play as an amnesiac pirate warrior named Wuchang on a quest to uncover the truth behind a world full of chaos. You’ll fight monstrous creatures in forgotten temples and overgrown ruins, unlock new weapons and master devastating techniques in order to bring peace to yourself and others.

Grounded 2 (game preview)

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 29.

You’ve been shrunk to the size of an ant — again — and you’ll have to survive the dangerous, miniature world. You’ll fight spiders and wasps, craft weapons and homes and even ride on your own insect friends to get around. You’ll unravel new mysteries along the way, but be careful. Something else is out there, and it hasn’t forgotten about you.

Farming Simulator 25

Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play on Aug. 1.

Farming isn’t always as simple as games like Stardew Valley might make it out to be, but it can still be very rewarding. If you want a taste of what goes into building and maintaining your own farm, give Farming Simulator 25 a try. You’ll grow diverse crops, raise different animals and with the weather-changing, ground-deforming atmosphere, you’ll face all kinds of challenges along the way.

Games leaving Game Pass on July 31

While Microsoft is adding those games to Game Pass soon, it’s also removing three other games on July 31. So you still have some time to finish your campaign or complete any side quests before you have to buy these games separately.

Gigantic: Rampage Edition
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank

For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. You can also check out what to know about upcoming Xbox game price hikes.