By IDSE News Staff
Today, the FDA amended the emergency use authorization for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to shorten the time between the completion of a primary series of the vaccine and booster dose to at least five months for people 18 years of age and older.
The agency already shortened the time between the primary series and booster dose for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine.
“Today’s action also brings consistency in the timing for administration of a booster dose among the available mRNA [messenger RNA] vaccines. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated—it’s never too late to get your COVID-19 vaccine or booster,” said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
The reason? Omicron.
“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. Marks 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.”
The most commonly reported side effects by individuals who received a booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine after completion of a two-dose primary series were pain; redness and swelling at the injection site; and fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, and chills.
