FDA Authorizes Another Covid Booster Shot for People Over 65
If four months have passed since a senior's or immunocompromised person's last booster, they may get a second bivalent one.
The Food and Drug Administration approved an additional round Tuesday of bivalent boosters for adults 65 and older, as well as those with compromised immune systems. This is an effort to protect against Covid which still claims more than 1,300 deaths each week.
The bivalent vaccines target Omicron-variants of the coronavirus. The agency stated that people 65 years and older, who haven't had a bivalent boost shot in the last four months, may receive another one. Immunocompromised people can receive additional doses two months after their last bivalent shot. The agency stated that those who have not been vaccinated may receive a single dose.
"Data continue to show that vaccines can prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and even death, the most serious Covid-19 outcomes."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that although the levels of the virus have decreased as summer approaches, the virus is still responsible for 1,300 deaths per week.
Data also shows that only 43 per cent of people aged 65 and older have received a booster Omicron shot and 20 per cent of those aged 18 and over.
The same formula was approved for spring boosters to protect against the Omicron virus variant. A new vaccine is expected to be released later this year. The agency also revoked Tuesday the authorization of the monovalent vaccines Americans received during the first mass vaccination campaign.
Dr. Daniel Griffin of Columbia University, an infectious diseases specialist, says that the decision to give the booster to those most at risk this spring is a good one for two reasons.
He said that the "traditional reason" is to protect people from serious disease. "But I also call it the superpower, where you can reduce your risk of infection by as much as 50% for three to four months."
C.D.C. The C.D.C. authorizations.
F.D.A. The F.D.A. The agency stated that its advisors would base their recommendations on the strain of virus that is currently circulating.
The F.D.A. said it expected to make updated formulations of the vaccines for this fall "once specific strains are selected for the Covid-19 vaccines." The F.D.A. said that it expects to update the formulations of vaccines this fall, "once specific strains have been selected for Covid-19 vaccines."