Many people across the globe had turned down their plans to take a COVID-19 booster due to hopes that a custom made vaccine for Omicron variant would soon be available. The wait for such people might soon end. The Food and Drug Administration might soon authorize a couple of booster shots that would target the virus with the most contagious strains and the development is expected to happen as soon as on August 31, 2022.
The new move by the FDA will pave way for the Biden administration, who will be offering the revamped vaccine soon after Labour Day. This will help to improve the protection potential of the Americans from the COVID resurgence later in 2022. The government in America is planning to roll out a combined 175 million doses of the new boosters that have been developed by the pharma giants Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. The shot by Moderna is available for all adults while the dose by Pfizer is offered to people who are 12 years and older.
With the introduction of the new boosters, the officials have hopes that it will provide ample protection from the BA.4 and the BA.5 Omicron sub variants. It will also provide protection against the original strain of the variant. The new move is the administration’s effort to get ahead of the fast-changing virus that continues to affect thousands of Americans per day. In recent times the actual number is not known as many people are also testing at home and are not reporting the cases to the government.
The pharma companies, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have submitted their respective applications for authorization last week. After the FDa signs the shots then the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will need to endorse the distribution towards the public. Meetings are scheduled by the CDC for the outside advisory panel on Thursday and Friday. The sessions will be held traditionally before the agency gives its final verdict.
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