People age 50 and up are eligible for a second booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine at least four months after their first, the Food …
People age 50 and up are eligible for a second booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine at least four months after their first, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided Tuesday. “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,” Dr. Peter Marks, who directs the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. The CDC signed off on the booster shots several hours after the FDA authorized them. A second booster dose improves protection against severe COVID-19 and is not associated with new safety concerns, the FDA said. Second boosters are “especially important for those 65 and older and those 50 and older with underlying medical conditions that increase their risk for severe disease from COVID-19 as they are the most likely to benefit from receiving an additional booster dose at this time,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. Medical conditions that increase risk for severe disease include obesity, diabetes, chronic lung, kidney or liver disease, heart disease, smoking, pregnancy and many mental health conditions. Both agencies authorized a fifth shot for anyone with a weakened immune system, often because of treatment for cancer, organ transplantation or autoimmune disease. Anyone immunocompromised and age 12 or older is eligible for another dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and immunocompromised adults can also receive the Moderna vaccine. For the immunocompromised, the initial vaccination is three doses. They have been allowed since last fall to get a first booster, or fourth dose, and are now entitled to a fifth, CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund confirmed. People who received initial doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can receive a second booster dose, Nordlund said. The J&J vaccine was initially a one-shot vaccine, though studies suggested that two doses were needed to provide the same protection as the other two authorized vaccines. J&J recipients have been eligible since last fall to get a second shot, and the CDC recommended that they receive a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine for their second dose.
