The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended Thursday evening the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for both the Pfizer and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines “to allow for the use of an additional dose in certain immunocompromised individuals.”
Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement that the country “has entered yet another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the FDA is especially cognizant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease.” “After a thorough review of the available data, the FDA determined that this small, vulnerable group may benefit from a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Vaccines,” she added. She affirmed that this “allows doctors to boost immunity in certain immunocompromised individuals who need extra protection from COVID-19.” The FDA stressed that “other fully vaccinated individuals do not need an additional vaccine dose right now.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss “further clinical recommendations regarding immunocompromised individuals.” Earlier Thursday, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters that “emerging data show that certain people who are immunocompromised, such as people who have had organ transplant and some cancer patients, may not have had an adequate immune response to just two doses of the COVID vaccine,” saying “this is a very small population,” estimated to be less than three percent of adults in the nation.
Source-KUNA