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On Friday, the country turned another corner in the fight against COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster doses for all Americans 18 years and older. The FDA now authorizes the use of a single booster dose for everyone 18 years and older, after primary vaccination "with any FDA-authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine."
Before Friday, the FDA recommended boosters for those 18 and older who had been vaccinated earlier and met certain criteria. For Moderna and Pfizer, boosters were recommended for those 65 and older, individuals 18–64 who were at risk of severe COVID-19, and those 18–64 who worked in places where they are at high risk for exposure for COVID-19.
Boosters are now approved for all people ages 18 and older who have been vaccinated and are at least six months out from their second dose of Moderna or Pfizer or at least two months out from their dose of the Janssen vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is planning to meet Friday to talk about more recommendations.
“The FDA has determined that the currently available data support expanding the eligibility of a single booster dose of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to individuals 18 years of age and older,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a statement. “Streamlining the eligibility criteria and making booster doses available to all individuals 18 years of age and older will also help to eliminate confusion about who may receive a booster dose and ensure booster doses are available to all who may need one.”
To make this recommendation, the FDA analyzed immune response data from populations that had been previously authorized for boosters. For Moderna, the agency looked at data from 149 participants from original clinical studies who received a booster dose. "The antibody response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus 29 days after a booster dose of the vaccine demonstrated a booster response," it said in a statement. For Pfizer, it analyzed data from about 200 participants.
If you're having difficulty locating a booster in Missouri, the state's vaccine navigator can help.
