FDA Authorizes COVID-19 Booster Shots from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech
The FDA on Wednesday authorized Covid booster shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna that are capable of generating protection against the coronavirus strains circulating most widely in the U.S.
The move would allow the Biden administration to begin offering boosters just after Labor Day, pending an endorsement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency’s vaccine advisory group is set to meet Thursday to vote on whether to recommend the boosters, with an additional discussion on Friday morning. Though the agency doesn’t always have to follow its advisory committee’s advice, it usually does.
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and Peter Marks, the agency’s top vaccine regulator, told reporters they believe variant-specific shots will be key to bolstering the nation’s immunity ahead of a predicted fall wave of disease that could peak in early December.
