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| Photo Credit: VOA. |
The Biden Administration will offer to the American people, updated booster shots in September as the government pushes new measures to effectively protect people from the deadly Covid-19 that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans in the last two years.
Americans under 50 and over 12 to receive second boosters - FDA
The Food and
Drugs Administration (F.D.A) has taken a decision to allow Americans under 50
and over 12 to receive second boosters followed reformulated shots from Pfizer
and Modena, New York Times reports.
The improved
versions are expected to perform better against the now-dominant Omicron
subvariant BA.5.
The
Administration’s effort is targeted at improving people’s immunities in the
fall as the nation prepares for winter surge of the virulent Corona virus.
Citing
internal deliberations, New York Times reported that senior health officials
argued that eligibility for a second booster should be broadened before the
reformulated version is ready noting that coronavirus infections is beginning a
new surge.
Dr. Anthony
S. Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, and Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the
White House pandemic response coordinator, both advocated that position,
according to New York Times.
“I think
there should be flexibility and permissiveness in at least allowing” a second
booster for younger Americans, Dr. Fauci said in an interview this month.
An
alternative discussed was to offer the shots only to a subset of younger, at
risk individuals such as pregnant women.
All adults
are expected to be eligible for the updated booster shots as well as children,
New York Times quoted people familiar with the deliberations.
Rare heart related Covid-19 vaccine side effect reported
However the
booster shots may not be without side effects as officials worry that two
bolsters in close succession might elevate the risk of a rare heart-related
side effect, myocarditis, that has been linked to both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s
vaccines.
New York
Times reported that nearly half of the participants in a recent study reported
a heavier flow while menstruating after receiving the Covid vaccine.
The
Department of Health and Human Services recently made an advance purchase of
105 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for $3.2 billion, according to
New York Times. On Friday, the Biden Administration announced it has secured 66
million doses of Moderna’s candidate.
New cases
have dipped below 130,000.