John Legend says he wants to keep his family protected with updated COVID vaccine
John Legend isn't taking chances when it comes to keeping his family healthy.
In an interview with "CBS Mornings" Wednesday, the singer and father of four, 44, shared why he thinks it's important to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
"I believe in making sure everyone in my family is protected," he said. "The thing about the virus is, it changes, it mutates, and so it's good to have vaccines that are updated."
Legend partnered with vaccine maker Pfizer earlier this year to promote booster shots against Omicron variants. Now, just a month after the FDA and CDC signed off on updated COVID vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, Legend is using his voice to encourage others to get the shots, which are retargeted for newer variants ahead of the fall virus season.
"I think what's gonna happen in the future is we're gonna have updates every year, just like we get a flu shot every year," Legend added. "If you care about keeping your family healthy and keeping your family protected, I think getting the vaccine update is a great way to help do that."
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The new shots are similar to previously approved formulas, but were updated to target the XBB variants of the virus, which became dominant last winter.
"Updated COVID booster shots still provide the best protection we have against the disease, especially the most severe forms of COVID," Emily Smith, a global health expert and author of "The Science of the Good Samaritan," told CBS News in an email last month. "Even though we continue to have new variants of COVID pop up, the good news is that the updated booster shots still work against the current variants circulating, including the newest variants."
The new COVID-19 shots come as health authorities are also promoting other new vaccines now available for RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, in addition to the annual seasonal flu vaccine.
–Alexander Tin contributed reporting.