FDA, CDC clear 2nd booster COVID vaccine for ages 50+

More than 34 million Americans aged 50 and older are now eligible to receive another booster shot, after the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it had authorized a new round of the Moderna or Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for those who want them. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention echoed the FDA's authorization on Tuesday afternoon, signing off on guidance making a second booster dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine available for eligible people "who wish to increase their individual protection."

The CDC also went a step further, clearing a second booster dose for all adults "who received a primary vaccine and booster dose of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months ago."

"We're hoping that by taking this action, we will help allow people to take steps to protect themselves should we have another wave that comes through this country," the FDA's top vaccines official, Dr. Peter Marks, told reporters on Tuesday.

Americans who are old enough to be eligible will be able to get the second booster as early as four months after their first booster. Immunocompromised Americans ages 12 and older who were boosted will also be able to get another shot.

Until now, only Americans with compromised immune systems have been eligible to receive a fourth shot if they were first vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or a third shot if they had initially gotten Johnson & Johnson. 

The FDA said Tuesday's decision was based on data from health authorities in Israel that showed "no new safety concerns" with a fourth dose of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine that was rolled out for residents there age 60 and older. The regulator also said data from "an independently conducted study" showed the Moderna fourth dose found no safety concerns "up to three weeks of follow up after the second booster dose."