Moderna Joined Pfizer With Plans For A Second COVID Booster & Here's Who Can Get It
They want to boost your booster.
Four might soon be the new three when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines.
Both Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna asked the U.S. FDA to approve a second booster this week, amid rising case counts around the world.
Pfizer was the first one out of the gate on Tuesday, with a proposal to start handing out dose No. 4 for people 65 and older.
"It is necessary," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CBS last weekend.
He added that those with three doses have protection that is "quite good" for preventing hospitalization and death. However, "it's not that good against infections, but doesn't last very long."
Moderna followed Pfizer's move by applying for its own second booster dose on Thursday, although that one appears to be more wide-ranging.
Moderna is asking the FDA to approve a second booster for people age 18 and older, according to a news release. It says this will give healthcare providers more "flexibility" to hand out a fourth shot to people who are at "higher risk of COVID-19 due to age or comorbidities."
There's no timeline yet for when the second booster will be available in the U.S. or other countries using the same vaccines. However, Pfizer's CEO has floated the idea of a second booster in the past that could come 12 months after the first, if not sooner.
Many countries have moved to scale back or drop their COVID-19 restrictions in recent months, although the World Health Organization warned this week that we're not done with the virus yet.
WHO boss Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday that the Omicron variant is driving global case counts up again, even as some countries scale back their testing efforts.
"These increases are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries," he said, according to Reuters. "We're seeing just the tip of the iceberg."
