Current:Home > InvestFDA authorizes first revamp of COVID vaccines to target omicron-LoTradeCoin
FDA authorizes first revamp of COVID vaccines to target omicron
View Date:2024-12-23 17:09:31
The Food and Drug Administation authorized reformulated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that aim to protect against the omicron variant.
The new shots target both the original strain of the coronavirus and the omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants that most people are catching now. This double-barreled vaccine is called a bivalent vaccine.
"The FDA has been planning for the possibility that the composition of the COVID-19 vaccines would need to be modified to address circulating variants. ... We have worked closely with the vaccine manufacturers to ensure the development of these updated boosters was done safely and efficiently," said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in an agency statement. "The FDA has extensive experience with strain changes for annual influenza vaccines. We are confident in the evidence supporting these authorizations."
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for use as a single booster dose in people 18 and older. The Pfizer-BioNTech booster is authorized for people 12 years and up. People are eligible for the new boosters two months after completing their initial vaccination or their last booster shot.
The federal government plans to make the boosters available starting next week. In advance of the FDA's decision, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator told NPR that the new boosters represented "a really important moment in this pandemic."
Public health officials hope they will help contain a possible fall and winter surge.
But there is also skepticism about how big a difference the boosters can make. "It could be problematic if the public thinks that the new bivalent boosters are a super-strong shield against infection, and hence increased their behavioral risk and exposed themselves to more virus," John Moore, an immunologist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, told NPR before the FDA decision.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Lululemon, Disney partner for 34-piece collection and campaign: 'A dream collaboration'
- Travis Kelce announces lineup for Kelce Jam music festival. Will Taylor Swift attend?
- LSU settles lawsuit with 10 women over mishandled sexual assault cases involving athletes
- Record-high year for Islamophobia spurred by war in Gaza, civil rights group says
- Horoscopes Today, November 9, 2024
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Period Piece
- Powell: Fed still sees rate cuts this year; election timing won’t affect decision
- The Daily Money: Costco expands to weight-loss management
- Get well, Pop. The Spurs are in great hands until your return
- Michael Stuhlbarg attacked with a rock in New York City, performs on Broadway the next day
Ranking
- Trump is likely to name a loyalist as Pentagon chief after tumultuous first term
- In Texas, Ex-Oil and Gas Workers Champion Geothermal Energy as a Replacement for Fossil-Fueled Power Plants
- Anya Taylor-Joy Reveals Surprising Detail About Her and Malcolm McRae's “Secret” Wedding
- Family of Kaylee Gain, teen injured in fight, says she now has trouble speaking, walking
- Gavin Rossdale Makes Rare Public Appearance With Girlfriend Xhoana Xheneti
- Helicopter footage shows rescue of California hiker dangling from cliff: 'Don't let go'
- Why Euphoria's Hunter Schafer Isn’t Ready to Date After Dominic Fike Break Up
- US first-quarter auto sales grew nearly 5% despite high interest rates, but EV growth slows further
Recommendation
-
Voters in Oakland oust Mayor Sheng Thao just 2 years into her term
-
Yellowstone Actor Mo Brings Plenty’s Nephew Missing: Costar Cole Hauser and More Ask for Help
-
2024 Japanese Grand Prix: How to watch, schedule, and odds for Formula One racing
-
Largest fresh egg producer in US halts production at Texas plant after bird flu found in chickens
-
RHOBH's Erika Jayne Reveals Which Team She's on Amid Kyle Richards, Dorit Kemsley Feud
-
What Love on the Spectrum's Dani Bowman, Abbey Romeo & Connor Tomlinson Really Think of the Series
-
Voters in Enid, Oklahoma, oust city council member with ties to white nationalism
-
Russia accuses IOC chief of 'conspiracy' to exclude its athletes from 2024 Olympics