The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave its approval for a second dose of the revised COVID booster vaccine for those who are over the age of 65 or have a compromised immune system.
Covid Booster Update
- Booster doses were modified in August 2022 to target BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants along with the initial strain.
- BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants are no longer reported in the U.S.
- CDC reports that around 78% of newly reported Covid infections in the country are caused by omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.
- It is recommended to get booster doses to strengthen immunity against Covid, including the omicron subvariant.
According to a statement released by the FDA, individuals aged 65 and older are eligible to get a second dosage of the revised versions of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Moderna’s Covid booster at least four months following the last treatment. According to the agency, the majority of immunocompromised individuals are eligible to receive a second dosage at least two months after receiving their most recent treatment.
The multi-dose main series that was previously recommended for individuals who had not yet been immunized will no longer be necessary after the FDA gave its clearance to use the bivalent formulation in all future Covid vaccinations. It implies that those who have not yet been vaccinated will only receive one dose of the most recent version of the vaccine.
The decision that was made by the FDA will now be turned over to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has a meeting set with its panel of outside experts. If the panel decides that the additional boosters should be approved, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the head of the CDC, gives her stamp of approval, then vaccinations may start right away.
Even if the boosters do not match the strain that is now prevalent, they should still offer individuals some level of protection, according to Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of Toronto.
According to research released by the CDC in January, the upgraded Covid boosters cut the chance of contracting the Covid infection caused by the XBB.1.5 subvariant by roughly half. Another study indicated that using Covid boosters lowered the incidence of hospitalization for persons aged 65 and older by 72%. The findings of this study were published in this month’s issue of The Lancet and were conducted by Israeli researchers. Nevertheless, neither research investigated what would happen to a person’s immune system if they were given two separate doses of the bivalent booster.
Bogach stated, “To date, regardless of the circulating variant, the vaccines continue to provide meaningful protection against severe manifestations of the virus such as hospitalizations and death.”
Presently, just around 17% of the whole U.S. population has had a booster shot so far, per the CDC.
The FDA’s announcement comes after an advisory panel expressed concerns about switching to annual Covid boosters for most adults and children, but seemed to approve several doses for the most at-risk Americans, such as the elderly or those with compromised immune systems.
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