Pharmaceutical company Moderna asked the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday to authorize a fourth dose of its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for all adults.
The request is broader than that of rival Pfizer, which earlier this week asked the regulator to approve a booster dose for all older adults.
The company said in a news release that its approval request for all adults was made “to give flexibility” to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and health care providers. to determine the “appropriate use” of a second booster dose of the mRNA vaccine, “including for those at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 due to age or comorbidities.”
U.S. officials have been laying the groundwork for more booster doses to bolster the protection provided by vaccines against severe or fatal COVID-19.
In fact, the White House has warned that it needs Congress to “urgently” approve more funds for the federal government to obtain more doses of vaccines against COVID-19, either for additional booster vaccines or for variant immunizations. specific.