Some US adults could get updated COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year, as government advisers voted Tuesday to recommend that it is time to update the booster dose to better accommodate the younger variant.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisors have questioned how to modify the dose now, when there is no way to know how the changing virus will evolve by the fall, especially given that the current booster dose is not enough to be achieved. People with severe are still protected from COVID-19.
In the end, the FDA panel voted 19-2 in favor of a booster dose for COVID-19, including some versions of the Omron version, that was part of a booster campaign planned for the fall.
“If we wait any longer, we will fall behind,” said Dr. Mark Sawyer, one of the advisors on the University of California, San Diego, campus.
The FDA will have to decide on the exact formulation, but an injection that adds protection against Omicron or some of its newer relatives is expected.
“None of us have a crystal ball,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s chief vaccine officer.
But “at least we can get the immune system closer to responding to what’s happening now”, rather than much older virus strains.
It is unclear who will be offered the upgraded booster. It may only be recommended for older adults or people at high risk of getting the virus.
However, the FDA is expected to rule on the formula change within a few days, and then Pfizer and Moderna will have to request authorization of a duly updated dosage, giving health officials time to establish a vaccination strategy. year.
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