COVID Vaccine Dosing Simplified
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration simplified the immunization schedule for people receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The FDA noted in its decision that most Americans 5 years of age and older now have some amount of antibody protection against SARS-CoV-2, from either getting vaccinated or getting sick from the virus: “COVID-19 continues to be a very real risk for many people, and we encourage individuals to consider staying current with vaccination, including with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. The available data continue to demonstrate that vaccines prevent the most serious outcomes of COVID-19, which are severe illness, hospitalization, and death.” The current bivalent vaccines are protective against both the original strain and Omicron BA.4/BA.5 strains and they will now be the only mRNA COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the U.S., replacing the original monovalent vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna. Here are the changes: • For unvac...