FDA And Health Experts To Meet Wednesday To Discuss Future Of COVID-19 Boosters
WEXFORD (KDKA) - The future of COVID-19 boosters comes down to a crucial meeting happening in just a few hours.
A panel of experts along with the Food & Drug Administration will meet to discuss.
Health experts say the shot that's effective today may not be in a couple of months due to new COVID-19 variants. So today they're going to discuss the best protection against COVID-19.
The panel will focus on when and how frequently they should change the composition of the vaccine based on variants and the dominance of those variants.
They'll also be discussing who would be eligible for boosters and the best time to administer them.
Health experts have said there are many factors to consider when making decisions for the future.
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health has already launched a trial to study different kinds of COVID-19 boosters.
"What we'll be doing is assessing different fourth doses that are either ancestral strain or variant-specific in the first phase of the study," Dr. Fauci said. "In the second phase of the study, we're planning on looking at different vaccine platforms for the purpose of getting a great durability than we currently have."
As health experts look further into changing the composition of the vaccine, they'll look at the process used to update seasonal flu vaccines for guidance.
The meeting beings at 8:30 a.m. and you can watch it live right here.
