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On Tuesday, March 29, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a second shot has been approved for Americans who are 50 and older once four months have passed since their initial booster.
With the FDA's approval, the decision now falls on Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who is expected to sign off on the additional shot as soon as Tuesday afternoon.
The second booster shot had already been authorized by federal health officials for immunocompromised Americans following the completion of a three-dose vaccination series.
“Current evidence suggests some waning of protection over time against serious outcomes from COVID-19 in older and immunocompromised individuals," Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said in a statement. "Based on an analysis of emerging data, a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine could help increase protection levels for these higher-risk individuals."
The move comes as the country contends with a new subvariant of the virus that has rapidly spread overseas.
“Additionally, the data show that an initial booster dose is critical in helping to protect all adults from the potentially severe outcomes of COVID-19,” Marks added. "So, those who have not received their initial booster dose are strongly encouraged to do so.”
Officials noted that the action only applies to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and that “the authorization of a single booster dose for other age groups with these vaccines remains unchanged.”
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