US CDC Approves Second Omicron-Updated COVID Booster For Adults

Older people and those with weakened immune systems may be given a second dose of Omicron-targeting COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency's decision follows the FDA's approval on Tuesday of a second dose of Omicron-updated booster for the specified high-risk population. Adults 65 and older can receive a second dose of the updated vaccine, according to the CDC, while people with compromised immune systems can receive additional doses. The original COVID-19 vaccine will also no longer be recommended for use in the United States, according to the statement.

On Tuesday, the FDA also announced that the updated shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna would become the primary COVID vaccine. It revoked its emergency-use authorization for older messenger RNA vaccines that only target the original coronavirus. The changes made today did not affect monovalent COVID-19 vaccines from Novavax or Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, according to the agency. In February, a working group of CDC advisers concluded that there was insufficient evidence to recommend more than one COVID-19 booster shot per year for the specified population, but they did support flexibility in recommendations for the immunocompromised population to receive more frequent doses.