HARRISBURG, Pa. — The latest COVID-19 booster shots could start to roll out in early September, according to public health officials.
The updated Pfizer and Moderna shots were submitted last week to the FDA and CDC for authorization.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which recommends authorizations before the agency makes its final public verdict, is scheduled to meet on Sept. 1 and 2. If approved, booster administration could begin as soon as Labor Day.
The new formulation is bivalent, meaning it offers protection against two strains. It protects against the original coronavirus, in addition to the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. Those strains are currently the most common being spread in the United States.
The new booster offers better protection against breakthrough cases of the new variants, as well as preventing serious disease, officials say.
“It’s new, but all of its genes, its sequences are known, so they simply tailor it to those genes, just like the way they tailor the flu (vaccine) each year to the new strains of the flu,” Dr. John Goldman, an infectious disease specialist with UPMC, said.
Public health officials are urging everyone who has gotten their original vaccine to get the booster ahead of fall and winter, when people head indoors and spread the virus more easily.
If approved, the Pfizer booster shot will be available to those 12 and older, while the Moderna booster shot will be available to those 18 and older.
The CDC also said the new booster for children younger than 12 would become available shortly after the adult version.