The
The recipe: Combination shots that add protection against the omicron relatives named BA.4 and BA.5 to the original vaccine. Those mutants together now account for just over half of new
It's still a gamble as there's no way to know if an omicron relative still will be a threat as cold weather approaches or if a newer mutant will take its place. And the current
But the combination approach, what scientists call “bivalent” shots, would allow the boosters to retain the proven benefits of the original vaccine while adding to its breadth of protection. It’s a common vaccine strategy: Flu shots, for instance, can protect against four influenza strains and are tweaked annually depending on what's circulating.
The FDA’s decision comes after its scientific advisers earlier this week recommended that any boosters for a fall campaign should contain some version of omicron -- but left undecided whether it should be the omicron mutant that caused last winter’s surge or the genetically distinct relatives that have replaced it.
“We’re continuing to collect more data from our study on BA.4/5 and will be in touch as soon as we are ready to submit,”
The FDA’s order doesn’t guarantee that those combo shots would be offered in the fall. Manufacturers still have to provide key data before the agency decides whether to authorize modified boosters -- and the
For now, an all-important first booster of current vaccine already is urged for all Americans age 5 and older. People 50 and older are eligible for a second booster. With omicron, authorities say the shots' protection against COVID-19 hospitalization, while still robust, has slipped some in older adults and a second booster can help restore it.
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