U.S. regulators on Tuesday authorized another COVID-19 booster for people age 50 and older, a step to offer extra protection for the most vulnerable in case the coronavirus rebounds.
The Food and Drug Administration’s decision opens a fourth dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to that age group at least four months after their previous booster.
Everyone eligible for a first booster who hasn’t gotten one yet needs to, FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said. But the second booster is only for these higher-risk groups because “current evidence suggests some waning of protection” for them. Pfizer had asked the FDA to clear a fourth shot for people 65 and older, while Moderna requested another dose for all adults “to provide flexibility” for the government to decide who really needs one. The FDA set age 50 as the threshold for both companies. As for the immune-compromised, only the Pfizer vaccine can be used in those as young as 12; Moderna’s is for adults.
But while he encourages older friends and relatives to follow the advice, the 50-year-old Wherry — who is healthy, vaccinated and boosted — doesn’t plan on getting a fourth shot right away. With protection against severe illness still strong, “I’m going to wait until it seems like there’s a need.” U.S. health officials also looked to Israel, which during the omicron surge opened a fourth dose to people 60 and older at least four months after their last shot. The FDA said no new safety concerns emerged in a review of 700,000 fourth doses administered.
“The ‘when’ is a really difficult part. Ideally we would time booster doses right before surges but we don’t always know when that’s going to be,” said Dr. William Moss, a vaccine expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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FDA OKs second Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 booster for ages 50 and upU.S. regulators on Tuesday authorized another COVID-19 booster for people age 50 and older, a step to offer extra protection for the most vulnerable in case the coronavirus rebounds.
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FDA OKs another Pfizer, Moderna COVID booster for 50 and upU.S. regulators are allowing people 50 and older to get another booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Weiterlesen »
FDA OKs another Pfizer, Moderna COVID booster for 50 and upU.S. regulators are allowing people 50 and older to get another booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Weiterlesen »
FDA OKs another Pfizer, Moderna COVID booster for 50 and upU.S. regulators on Tuesday authorized another COVID-19 booster for people age 50 and older, a step to offer extra protection for the most vulnerable in case the coronavirus rebounds. The Food and Drug Administration's decision opens a fourth dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to that age group at least four months after their previous booster. Until now, the FDA had cleared fourth doses only for people 12 and older who have severely weakened immune systems.
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