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U.S. NEWS Saturday 30 July 2022

U.S. rules out summer COVID boosters to focus on fall campaign

By MATTHEW PERRONE and Congress, the Biden admin-
LAURAN NEERGAARD istration said.
Associated Press As for timing, getting a
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. booster too soon after the
regulators said Friday they previous dose means miss-
are no longer considering ing out on its full benefit —
authorizing a second CO- something policymakers
VID-19 booster shot for all will have to take into con-
adults under 50 this sum- sideration when rolling out
mer, focusing instead on revamped shots.
revamped vaccines for the The White House has at
fall that will target the new- times been frustrated by
est viral subvariants. the pace of decision-mak-
Pfizer and Moderna expect ing at the FDA and CDC,
to have updated versions most notably last summer,
of their shots available as when the regulators took
early as September, the weeks to decide whether
Food and Drug Adminis- to authorize the first boost-
tration said in a statement. er dose for U.S. adults. Pri-
That would set the stage vately, West Wing officials
for a fall booster campaign believe the delay cost lives,
to strengthen protection preventing optimum pro-
against the latest versions tection amid the delta and
of omicron. omicron surges, but also
The announcement means fed into doubts about vac-
the U.S. won't pursue a cine and booster effective-
summer round of boost- A vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is displayed on a counter at a pharmacy in Portland, ness that impacted their
ers using the current vac- Ore. on Dec. 27, 2021. uptake.
cines for adults under 50, as Associated Press In recent weeks, some of
some Biden administration those frustrations have bub-
officials and outside ex- shot now: "You can still ben- February, though deaths manufacturers have been bled up again, as regula-
perts previously suggested. efit from existing booster have remained low at speeding their produc- tors considered whether to
They had argued that an- options and leave time to about 360 per day, thanks tion and data gathering to recommend a fourth shot
other round of shots now receive an updated boost- to widespread immunity have those so-called biva- for all adults, not just those
could help head off rising er in the fall," the agency and improved treatments lent vaccines ready for the at highest risk from the virus.
cases and hospitalizations said in a statement. against the virus. fall. Some in the White House
caused by the highly trans- The White House has also The subvariants are off- The FDA and the Centers believe that the additional
missible omicron strains. emphasized that getting shoots of the strain responsi- for Disease Control and dose would have helped
Currently, all Americans a fourth dose now won't ble for nearly all of the virus Prevention would have to somewhat with the rapidly
age 5 and over are eligi- impact anyone's ability to spread in the U.S. this year. sign off on revamped shots spreading BA.5 subvariant,
ble for a booster shot five get omicron-targeted shots All the COVID-19 vaccines before their launch. and also lift the confidence
months after their initial pri- once they're made avail- given in the U.S. until now The U.S. has a contract to of anyone worried that their
mary series. Fourth doses of able — although how long have been based on the buy 105 million doses of the protection had waned.
the Pfizer or Moderna shots its been since their last dose original version of the vi- Pfizer combination shots Still, officials across the gov-
— a second booster — are will play a role in how soon rus that began spreading once they're ready, and ernment have acknowl-
recommended for Ameri- they're eligible. across the country in early 66 million of Moderna's ver- edged the risks of vaccine
cans 50 and older and for Two omicron subvariants, 2020. sion. But how soon large fatigue among Americans,
younger people with seri- BA.4 and BA.5, are even In June, the FDA told the amounts would become including tens of millions
ous health issues that make more contagious than their vaccine makers that any available isn't clear. The who still haven't received
them more vulnerable to predecessors and have boosters for the fall would government contracts in- their first booster. Govern-
COVID-19. pushed new daily cases have to combine protec- clude options to purchase ment figures show less than
The FDA urged eligible above 125,000 and hospi- tion against omicron BA.4 300 million doses each, but half of those eligible for a
adults who haven't been talizations to 6,300. Those and BA.5 and the original reaching that total will re- booster have gotten that
boosted to get their extra are the highest levels since coronavirus strain. Both quire more funding from third shot.q