CDC Advisory Panel Recommends New Covid Booster Shots Targeting Omicron

Topline

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee on Thursday recommended Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s updated Covid-19 booster shots targeting the extremely contagious omicron variant, clearing one of the last hurdles for the Biden administration’s fall booster campaign.

A nurse prepares to administers a Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot.

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Key Facts

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13-1 to approve the new bivalent shots, which protect against both the original Covid strain as well as omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

The move comes a day after the FDA authorized the shots, arguing they would provide better protection against omicron to guard against a winter surge.

Pfizer’s vaccine could be available to all Americans 12 years and older around Labor Day weekend, while Moderna’s shot would be available for all adults.

Those who have already gotten one or two boosters are still eligible for the new shot at least two months after their last vaccine dose, while those who have yet to receive a booster are also eligible two months after primary series vaccination.

Experts say the shots could provide important protection for those at high risk for severe coronavirus infections, who should not wait to get the booster.

What To Watch For

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky still needs to sign off on the shots, the last step for the vaccines to become available. She is expected to do shortly, meaning shots could be available as soon as this weekend.

Key Background

Fearing a winter surge of Covid and a new variant that is highly effective at evading antibodies from previous Covid infections and vaccinations, the FDA advised pharmaceutical companies in June to update coronavirus boosters to target the omicron substrains BA.4 and BA.5. The agency did so after a spike in coronavirus infections last winter, which was fueled by the omicron variant, when average daily Covid deaths topped 2,700 and daily hospitalizations exceeded 20,000. The closely related subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, which arrived in the U.S. around late March, have quickly become the dominant Covid strains, with BA.5 comprising 88.7% of all coronavirus infections the week ending August 27, according to estimates from the CDC. The new strains caused an uptick in Covid cases and hospitalizations in June and July, though infections have gradually started to drop again. Pressed to develop a shot by the fall, Pfizer and Moderna only had time to test the upgraded boosters in mice, though the companies have also looked at data from human trials for a vaccine targeting the first omicron strain BA.1. FDA regulators have said the U.S. may need to approach Covid vaccines like annual flu shots, which are modified each year to tackle the most prevalent strains but aren’t regularly tested.

Big Number

82,475. That’s how many daily Covid infections the U.S. averaged the week ending August 29, according to the CDC. That’s down from 118,930 daily cases the same week last year, but more than twice the daily number of infections during the same week in 2020. Increased availability of at-home tests may also mean Covid infections are being under-reported.

What We Don’t Know

What vaccine uptake could look like. Only roughly half of those who have received the primary series of Covid vaccines have gotten a booster dose, according to the CDC. The administration has ordered 171 million shots total, and will have 10 to 15 million doses available to start, according to Bloomberg. Some experts have suggested those not at high-risk for severe illness and already up to date on their primary and booster shots wait for data to see how well the new shot protects against infections before getting boosted again, which could be available late October or early November.

CDC Advisory Panel Recommends New Covid Booster Shots Targeting Omicron—Here’s What You Need To Know