BREAKING NEWS: The FDA advisory committee has unanimously recommended a booster dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for people age 65 and older and those at high risk because of underlying conditions or their jobs.
- FDA advisory committee votes to recommend approval of Moderna’s vaccine for Covid booster shots
- Booster shots will only be approved for those 65 years of age and older who are at high risk because of their jobs
An advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted to recommend the approval of booster doses of Modern‘s COVID-19.
The boosters are approved only for adults 65 years of age and older and who are at high risk of developing a severe case of the virus because of underlying conditions.
It comes nearly a month after a booster was approved by the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The FDA’s advisory committee has voted to recommend the approval of Moderna’s vaccine for COVID booster shots. Pictured: A health worker holds a vial of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in New York City, January 2021
Last month, Moderna released data showing People who received its COVID-19 vaccine last year are almost twice as likely to have a successful infection than those who were recently vaccinated.
There were 88 successful cases of COVID-19 among vaccinated Americans from December 2020 to March 2021.
By comparison, there were 162 cases – 1.8 times more – among those vaccinated between July 2020 and December 2020.
The Cambridge-based company, Massachusetts, said the data provided evidence of giving booster doses to fully vaccinated people.
In August, the White House announced that the COVID-19 vaccine booster shots would be available to all Americans starting September 20.
At the time, the Biden administration issued studies citing weakened immunity and the Delta version’s ability to cause breakthrough infections.
However, officials from the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) backtracked, saying there was not enough evidence of vaccines lacking in efficacy.
That makes boosters for Pfizer’s vaccine not rolling out until September 22 — ahead of the targeted roll out date — and only for specific groups like Moderma.
Next, Moderna’s booster shot will need to be authorized by the FDA and approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee.
This is breaking news and will be updated.
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