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US FDA Approves Half-Dose Moderna Booster For High-Risk Adults: Who Should Take The Shot

US FDA Approves Half-Dose Moderna Booster For High-Risk Adults: Who Should Take The Shot
Emerging evidence suggests that vaccine protection against the Covid-19 virus may decrease over time.

Unlike Pfizer booster shot, recipients of Moderna Covid vaccine would be given only a half-dose booster shot. Should India consider booster shots too?

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : October 15, 2021 4:01 PM IST

After Pfizer booster shot, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved Moderna third dose for people who are at high risk of contracting severe Covid-19 in the US. The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on Thursday recommended Moderna's Covid booster shot for adults who are over 65, have underlying health conditions, or whose jobs put them at high risk of contracting severe Covid-19. These people can take the booster shot at least six months after they receive their second Moderna dose.

Last month, the US drug regulator had approved booster shots for recipients of Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid vaccine who are above 65 and at-risk Americans. The emergency-use authorization also allowed boosters for people whose occupational exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus puts them at elevated risk of serious complications such as healthcare and grocery workers, education staff, public transit workers, firefighters, police, etc.

However, unlike Pfizer booster shot, the FDA has recommended a half-dose booster shot for recipients of Moderna Covid vaccine to bolster protection against the virus. The initial Moderna doses (first and second) consists of two 100-microgram shots, but the drugmaker has said that a single 50-microgram shot is enough for a booster.

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is yet to announce its decision on additional Moderna vaccine shot. Its vaccine advisory committee would be meeting on October 20-21 where it is expected to discuss the boosters.

Booster shots for recipients of Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine haven't yet been cleared.

Why we need booster shots?

Emerging evidence suggests that vaccine protection against the Covid-19 virus may decrease over time and become less effective against emerging variants. Data from clinical trials also show that booster shots increased the immune response and improved protection against COVID-19.

There have been several reports of fully vaccinated people getting Covid-19 infection, also known as breakthrough infections. Moderna had also revealed data showing a sudden rise in the number of breakthrough infections in July and August, seven months after their vaccine rollout began, suggesting the need for boosters.

According to the company, people who received the vaccine earlier were more likely to become infected than those who received their second dose later in the year.

Booster shots are primarily recommended for people aged 65 years and older and adults of any age with underlying medical conditions as they have increased risk of infection and severe illness from COVID-19.

In its two-day meeting, the FDA's panel of advisors will also discuss whether to recommend a booster of Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine.

Should India consider booster shots too?

Indian administers are waiting for more accurate information before initiating policy decisions on booster doses. Last month, a study by researchers at ICMR-regional medical research centre (RMRC) in Bhubaneswar found that the antibodies produced by Covaxin begins to fall after two months, whereas that of Covishield after three months. However, the researchers concluded that more scientific evidence is needed before deciding on a booster shot.

Experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) have also supported the use of Covid booster shot for moderately and severely immunocompromised people.

Such people are "less likely to respond adequately to vaccination following a standard primary vaccine series and are at high risk of severe Covid-19 disease," said the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) in a statement on Monday. These people should receive a third dose of a vaccine on the WHO Emergency Use Listing (UEL), it added.