We should know by early next month whether the FDA will grant emergency authorization for a second Covid booster shot.
Pfizer and Moderna say based on data from Israel, a second booster would help reduce breakthrough infections.
“Pfizer and Moderna have all the data,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, an expert on infectious diseases at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. “Once the FDA crunches that data, then we’re going to see what it looks like.”
We know immunity from either a previous infection or from the vaccines does wane over time. And it is likely, Dr. Swartzberg told me, that at some point we will need a second booster.
“It’ll be interesting to see what the FDA decides. And then if the FDA approves it, what the CDC decides. Right now, we just don’t have very much data to say yay or nay,” he said.
Dr. Swartzberg wants everyone to remember that despite this request for a second booster, the vaccines are working very well.
“They’re protecting you against hospitalization and death,” he said. “The fact that Pfizer and Moderna are asking the FDA for an emergency use authorization to give the vaccine in a fourth dose says nothing about whether the vaccine is working or not. It says everything about what the pharmaceutical manufacturers want.”
More Info: Moderna, Pfizer Want FDA to OK Second Boosters
