WASHINGTON, March 18 (BUS) – Drug company Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration Thursday to approve a fourth dose of its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose for all adults.
The demand is broader than rival drugmaker Pfizer’s request earlier this week for the regulator to approve a booster dose for all seniors.
In a press release, the company said its request for approval for all adults was submitted to “provide flexibility” for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical providers to determine the “appropriate use” of the second booster dose of the mRNA vaccine, “including in people at high risk of developing COVID-19.” 19 due to age or comorbidities.”
US officials are paving the way for additional booster doses to support vaccine protection against serious illness and death from COVID-19.
The White House has been sounding the alarm that it needs Congress to “urgently” approve more funding for the federal government to secure more doses of COVID-19 vaccines, either for additional boosters or different specific vaccines.
US health officials currently recommend an initial series of two doses of Moderna’s vaccine and a booster dose months later.
Moderna said its request for an additional dose is based on “recently published data generated in the United States and Israel after the advent of Omicron.”
On Tuesday, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech asked US regulators to allow an additional booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine for the elderly, saying data from Israel suggested that the elderly would benefit.
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