The FDA authorization calls for a second booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines...
Registered nurse Joyce Turner draws a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as she prepares to administer a booster shot to Arturo Coronel, not pictured, during a free drive-up vaccine clinic held at Compass Rose Ingenuity Campus Charter School in San Antonio, Texas, Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 5, 2022. The Health Collaborative, Lela Pharmacy, and the YWCA teamed up to offer Pfizer, Modern and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to eligible people from 1-4 p.m. Wednesday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the shots on Tuesday, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated federal guidance shortly after that. The doses “are available immediately to those eligible,” said Douglas Loveday, a spokesman for Texas’ health department.a second booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least four months after a person’s first booster shot.
“Current evidence suggests some waning of protection over time against serious outcomes from COVID-19 in older and immunocompromised individuals,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Based on an analysis of emerging data, a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine could help increase protection levels for these higher-risk individuals.