An FDA advisory committee voted to recommend a third offering of the Moderna COVID vaccine on Thursday. Dr. Lucio Miele, Assistant Dean for Translational Science at LSU Health New Orleans said the committee has advised the FDA to give emergency use authorization to the Moderna booster shot which is actually a half dose of the vaccine.
“For certain categories of people, 65 and older, if younger than 65 but older than 18 only people at high risk of severe COVID-19,” said Miele.
Or at great risk of exposure due to their profession. It’s recommended for those who received their second dose of the Moderna vaccine more than six months ago.
Miele who has previously worked for the FDA said the Moderna booster advisory is an important step in the pandemic, but also controversial because there are still so many internationally who have yet to be vaccinated.
“But we also don’t want and cannot afford to keep going through one wave after another,” said Miele.
The key to preventing future waves of the pandemic, Miele said is to maintain immunity in as many people as possible so those who haven’t even had their first dose to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“And we need to maintain protection particularly in older individuals and individuals at risk who have been vaccinated a long time ago,” said Miele.
And the advisory to give EUA for the Moderna booster can also cut down on the need for quarantine for some.
“What they are trying to do is limit as much as possible the number of people with limited immunity who can test positive and have to be quarantined,” said Miele.
He expects the FDA to give EUA for the Moderna booster shot in the coming days.
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