CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has signed off on a recommendation from the FDA that those who received the Moderna vaccine are now eligible to get a booster 5 months after their second shot rather than 6.
This new adjustment for the Moderna booster is for those aged 18 and older.
“The country is in the middle of a wave of the highly contagious Omicron variant, which spreads more rapidly than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and other variants that have emerged.” Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said.
“Vaccination is our best defense against COVID-19, including the circulating variants, and shortening the length of time between completion of a primary series and a booster dose may help reduce waning immunity,” he continued. “We encourage everyone to get vaccinated—it’s never too late to get your COVID-19 vaccine or booster.”
Commonly reported side-effects from those who received a booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine include pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, as well as fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain and chills.
According to the FDA, Pfizer-BioNTech recipients who received their two-dose primary series are also eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine booster after 5 months. At the same time, teens aged 12 to 17 can get a Pfizer booster shot only. For J&J recipients who are ages 18 and older, the wait time to receive a booster shot is only 2 months.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel voiced his concern at a health care conference hosted by Goldman Sachs on Thursday, “I would expect that it’s not going to hold great. I worry about next fall.”
According to the CDC, the new Omicron variant spreads more quickly than the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There are now 500,000 cases of COVID-19 reported a day which is more than any other previous point in the pandemic. Hospitalizations have also increased to more than 50 percent over the last two weeks. Health officials urge those who are eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster to do so, as they attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus which is causing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death.