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Beth Connor, a caregiver who would be excluded from Covid vaccination under new FDA rules, with her son.<\/span>Courtesy Beth Connor<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Tuesday,<\/span> the Food and Drug Administration announced<\/a> that Covid booster shots will be limited to people over 65 and those with pre-existing health conditions that would put them at higher risk of acute complications.<\/p>\n The FDA\u2019s move is not surprising, given that Trump-appointed Covid contrarians Vinay Prasad<\/a>, the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Marty Makary, the recently confirmed FDA commissioner, have openly advocated for such restrictions since before the initial vaccine was even approved. \u201cThe FDA will approve vaccines for high-risk persons and, at the same time, demand robust, gold-standard data on persons at low risk,\u201d the two wrote <\/a>in a New England Journal of Medicine<\/em> article that was published on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Many groups of people face new or added risks as a consequence of the FDA\u2019s decision; notably, the agency has not signaled any intention to establish carveouts for caregivers of people who still qualify for Covid vaccines under its new rules. People who qualify for the vaccine, including disabled children, those with cancer, and aging adults, may rely on the support of caregivers to keep them healthy and help them function in day-to-day life. Even with masking and other protective measures, added immunity for people caring for those with Covid, or at risk of contracting it, is important in reducing the odds of infection and of subsequently contracting Long Covid, which 20 million people<\/a> in the US have been diagnosed with.<\/p>\n \u201cBy restricting vaccine access to caregivers who don\u2019t meet age or high-risk criteria,\u201d said Jason Resendez, CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, \u201cthe FDA creates a dangerous public health gap, as unvaccinated caregivers face increased risk of contracting and transmitting Covid-19 to the older adults and seriously ill individuals who depend on their care.\u201d<\/p>\n