US Authorities Allow Second Booster Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine For Elderly Of 50 Years Old

Illustration of a COVID-19 vaccination. (Wikimedia Commons/Claude Truong-Ngoc)

JAKARTA - United States health officials on Tuesday authorized a second booster dose of COVID-19, using the two most commonly used vaccines for people aged 50 and older, citing data showing reduced immunity and risks posed by the Omicron variant.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said a second booster using Pfizer and Moderna vaccines was given at least four months after the previous dose. The goal is to provide more protection against severe illness and hospitalization.

The FDA also allows a second booster dose of vaccine for younger people with weakened immune systems, those 12 years of age or older for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, while the moderna vaccine is for those aged 18 or older.

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports the FDA's authorization, recommending additional injections, especially for the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, putting them at higher risk.

The decision to offer a second booster in the United States comes, as several scientists have raised concerns about the new highly infectious and dominant BA.2 Omicron subvariance, which has driven COVID-19 cases in other countries.

Pfizer vaccine illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/US Secretary of Defense)

"If it were my relatives, I would send them out to do this (get a booster)," said top FDA official Dr. Peter Marks during a press conference to get a booster shot, reports Reuters, March 30.

"COVID-19 has a disproportionately disproportionate effect on people aged 65 years and over, as well as those with comorbidities," he said.

Cases of COVID-19 infection in the United States have fallen sharply since a record spike in January, but have seen a slight increase over the past week, according to CDC data.

Furthermore, Marks said the FDA would soon consider the benefits of authorizing another booster dose, perhaps specifically targeted at combating the new variant of concern, to the wider population after the summer.

"There may be a need for people to get additional boosters in the fall, along with a more general booster campaign, if that happens, as we may need to switch to a different range of variants."

The FDA said it looked at data from a relatively small and ongoing clinical trial in Israel to help make a decision. In addition, safety data from more than 700.000 people who received a second booster in Israel, did not reveal any new concerns, the agency said.

Illustration of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. (Wikimedia Commons/Commander, US Naval Forces Europe-Africa US 6th Fleet)

"It's not clear whether now is the right time for people to get a fourth dose," said Dr. William Moss, executive director of the Center for International Vaccine Access at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

If there is a spike in cases in late fall or early winter, as is common with respiratory viruses and influenza, additional increases may be needed, he said. The body-neutralizing antibodies boosted by the fourth booster given now may decrease in just a few months, he said.

It is also unclear whether otherwise healthy young people will need a fourth shot. Studies of Israeli health workers cited by the FDA suggest a fourth dose adds a little extra protection in the age group.

Separately, President Biden's administration official said the U.S. Government currently has sufficient doses of the vaccine to meet the demand for another booster shot in older Americans, even as funding for the U.S. pandemic response is running low.

They say unless Congress approves more spending, the government likely won't be able to pay for future inoculations, if needed, especially if vaccines need to be redesigned to target new variants.

To note, about two-thirds of fully vaccinated Americans over the age of 65, as well as more than half of people between the ages of 50 and 64 have had their first booster dose so far.