Moderna has asked federal regulators to authorize booster shots of its coronavirus vaccine for all adults, a request that the Food and Drug Administration could grant as early as this week along with a similar request from Pfizer, according to people familiar with the planning.
If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also signs off, every adult who was fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shot at least six months ago would not only be eligible for a booster but could choose which vaccine. The agency’s committee of independent experts is set to meet Friday to discuss booster shots.
It would also allow President Joe Biden to fulfill his August pledge to offer booster shots to every adult — nearly two months later than the administration originally planned, though, and amid an ongoing debate among experts over whether extra shots are necessary for younger, healthy adults.
As it now stands, only people 65 or older or considered at special risk because of their medical conditions, jobs or living environments are eligible for boosters of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. Anyone who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot can already get a booster of any of the three vaccines, at least two months after their first injection.
By some estimates, the existing eligibility categories, which are broad but complicated, cover up to 70% of adults. More than 30 million Americans, or about 16% of those fully vaccinated, have already gotten additional shots. But under the federal rules, tens of millions more are still ineligible.
Even if federal regulators do not act on Moderna’s request this week, the FDA and the CDC are expected to allow all fully vaccinated adults access to Pfizer’s booster.
Moderna’s vaccine is considered more protective than Pfizer-BioNTech’s; its dose for the initial two shots is 100 micrograms, while Pfizer’s is 30. Regulators authorized a half-dose of Moderna as a booster for older people and other vulnerable groups, in part to mitigate concerns about side effects; Moderna is seeking the same half-dose booster for the broader adult population.
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