The U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations of the updated Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to authorize bivalent formulations of the vaccine for use as a single booster dose, now at least two months following primary or booster vaccination.
The updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccine is expected to provide increased protection against the currently circulating omicron variants. The FDA does warn that those who do receive this updated vaccine may experience side effects commonly reported by individuals who receive authorized or approved mRNA vaccines.
The FDA says they had been planning for the possibility that the composition of the COVID-19 vaccines would need to be modified to address circulating variants. They looked to outside experts on the inclusion of an omicron component in the booster.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
