FDA announced Tuesday it has authorized second updated booster vaccines against COVID-19 for older adults and those with compromised immune systems. The bivalent vaccines target the Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2. FDA said people who are aged 65 years and older who have not had a bivalent booster in at least 4 months can get another dose. For individuals with compromised immune systems, additional doses of the updated vaccine can be administered 2 months after the last dose. Additionally, FDA said people who are unvaccinated can receive a single dose of the bivalent booster. “COVID-19 continues to be a very real risk for many people,” said Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within FDA. “The available data continue to demonstrate that vaccines prevent the most serious outcomes of COVID-19, which are severe illness, hospitalization and death.” CDC data show that while rates are falling, COVID-19 is still associated with some 1,300 deaths each week. The agency reports that just 43% of older adults have received an Omicron booster dose, while only about 20% of those aged 18 years and older have received the updated vaccine. FDA plans to make decisions about the recommended vaccine schedule for individuals younger than aged 65 years following an advisory meeting in June. The agency also said it anticipates making updated formulations of the vaccines for this fall “once the specific strains are selected for the COVID-19 vaccines.”
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