FDA authorizes second COVID-19 vaccine booster | United States

The drug regulator in the United States on Tuesday authorized another COVID-19 booster shot for people 50 and older, a step to offer additional protection for the most vulnerable in case the coronavirus picks up steam again.

The decision of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opens access to a fourth dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for that age group at least four months after their previous booster.

Until now, the FDA has authorized the fourth dose only for people 12 years of age and older with severely weakened immune systems. The agency said that especially fragile group could receive a fifth dose.

Hours after the FDA announcement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the extra dose as an option, but refrained from asking eligible people to come in for it.

The new expansion, regardless of a person’s health, allows for an additional dose for millions of people in the United States.

The FDA’s chief vaccine officer, Dr. Peter Marks, said anyone eligible for a first booster who hasn’t had one needs to get one. But the second boost is only for those high-risk groups because “current evidence indicates some reduction in protection” for them.

The decision comes at a time of great uncertainty. Coronavirus cases have fallen to low levels after a winter spike caused by the super-contagious omicron variant. Two doses of the vaccine and a booster still provide strong protection against severe symptoms and death, CDC data show.

But a new variant is causing a worrying rise in infections in Europe — and spreading in the United States — at a time when vaccinations have stalled. About two-thirds of people in the United States are vaccinated, and half of those eligible for a first booster have not received one.