Headline Roundup • August 31st, 2022
FDA Authorizes Updated COVID-19 Booster Shots for Expected Fall Omicron Wave
Coronavirus,FDA,Coronavirus Vaccine,Booster Shots,CDC,Pfizer,Moderna,BioNTech,BA.5 Variant,Omicron Variant
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The FDA updated its emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to include updated booster shots designed to fight the highly contagious BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants.
The updated booster shots came ahead of an expected fall or winter wave of COVID-19 cases. The U.S. currently has a seven-day average of about 90,000 daily new cases, but last winter’s Omicron wave saw as much as 806,000 average daily cases.
Updated boosters are expected to be available shortly after Labor Day; they still need the CDC’s approval before being administered at pharmacies nationwide. Single doses of the updated Pfizer booster are authorized for individuals 12 and up, but the updated Moderna booster is only authorized for adults. The CDC currently recommends a second dose of the pre-update Pfizer and Moderna boosters for adults aged 50 and up.
Coverage was widespread and mostly balanced across the spectrum, although right-rated outlets were less likely to feature coverage prominently on homepages. NPR (Lean Left bias) stood out by calling the updated boosters “double-barreled,” like a double-barreled shotgun.
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AP Photo/Steven Senne
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Wednesday that it has authorized updated coronavirus booster shots targeting the highly-contagious omicron variant.
"Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to authorize bivalent formulations of the vaccines for use as a single booster dose at least two months following primary or booster vaccination," it said in a statement.
JOEL SAGET/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized new Covid booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer that more closely match the strains of the coronavirus that are currently circulating in the U.S.
Pfizer’s booster, made with partner BioNTech, is being authorized for people as young as 12 years old. The Moderna booster is being authorized for people ages 18 and up.
Use of the new boosters still requires the signoff the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday and could vote...
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
COVID-19 vaccines designed to target the omicron variant have just been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. Both Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna got the FDA’s sign-off for their booster doses of the reformulated shot. This is the first update to COVID-19 vaccines to be authorized in the United States.
The Pfizer / BioNTech booster is available to people 12 and older, and the Moderna shot will be available to people 18 and older. They’ll only be boosters — they can’t be used by people who haven’t already had their...
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