CDC endorses more traditional Novavax COVID shot for adults: Monday, Aug. 22

U.S. adults who haven’t gotten any COVID-19 shots yet should consider a new option from Novavax -- a more traditional kind of vaccine, health officials said Tuesday.

Regulators authorized the nation’s first so-called protein vaccine against COVID-19 last week, but the final hurdle was a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“If you have been waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine built on a different technology than those previously available, now is the time to join the millions of Americans who have been vaccinated,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC's director, said in a statement, endorsing an earlier decision from an influential advisory panel.

Most Americans have gotten at least their primary COVID-19 vaccinations by now, but CDC officials said between 26 million and 37 million adults haven’t had a single dose -- the population that Novavax, for now, will be targeting.

“We really need to focus on that population,” said CDC adviser Dr. Oliver Brooks, past president of the National Medical Association. Hopefully, the vaccine "will change them over from being unvaccinated to vaccinated.”

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/cdc-advisers-endorse-novavax-covid-vaccine/507-5cf10985-355d-4a0e-97ca-46495cc961ae

It was a jampacked weekend in Charlotte. Charlotte Pride just wrapped up and a whole bunch of sporting events kicked off. Thousands were in the streets of Uptown.

The quiet and dead Uptown we all came to understand had some life breathed back into it. Whether you were here for an event two years in the making, preparing for the big Charlotte FC game, or headed out to the ballpark -- Energy was felt.

Jada Nelsen, Manager of Day and Night Cereal Bar in the French Quarter said sales skyrocketed.

“It’s been packed everyone been in the ally," Nelsen said. "Double the amount of people have come in from out of town for this.”

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/people-flock-to-uptown-businesses-see-the-impact-charlotte-economy-business-north-carolina/275-e2d92c93-4652-4a22-ac01-d74cff3ea394

Plus, shelters in the Charlotte area have reached critical levels. Here's how you can help WCNC Charlotte find forever homes for these sweet animals.

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!