The Food and Drug Administration has authorized SARS-CoV-2 boosters for all US adults who have already been vaccinated, NPR reports.
The emergency use authorizations the FDA granted are for both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna SARS-CoV-2 boosters, it adds. The agency authorized Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine boosters in September and Moderna SARS-CoV-2 boosters in October, but limited them to individuals 65 years old or older and younger individuals at increased risk of developing severe disease. The new authorization extends that eligibility to all adults over the age of 18, according to NPR. It adds that individuals who initially received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines would be booster-eligible six months after their second dose, while individuals who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would be eligible for a booster two months later.
"Streamlining the eligibility criteria … will also help to eliminate confusion about who may receive a booster dose and ensure booster doses are available to all who may need one," Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, tells NPR.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to weigh in Friday afternoon, and if the agency signs off, boosters could become more broadly available quickly.