The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized booster shots of both the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for all adults, marking a major shift from an earlier decision.
Just two months ago, agency advisors rejected plans to distribute the booster shots to all adults. Instead, federal regulators opted to only include at-risk groups, like the elderly and immunocompromised.
So why the narrower focus then, and what changed before Friday's reversal? It was already clear months ago that the vaccines' immunity shield fades most quickly for those aforementioned groups, but now it's more apparent younger and healthier people are experiencing some immunity drop-off as well.
When that happens, there's a significant risk that those people could spread the virus.
"Vaccinated people that have been vaccinated, say, three or six months in the past, can get infected," A. Marm Kilpatrick, an infectious disease researcher at UC Santa Cruz, told KCBS Radio in an interview. "Almost always with mild infections, which is great. That's the purpose of the vaccines. But then (they) can get infected and pass on the virus."
Immunity for younger, healthier people is still holding up well against the worst effects of the virus, Kilpatrick said. But boosters could make a big difference in preventing a possible holiday surge, like the U.S. experienced last year prior to the advent of the vaccines and amid far stricter COVID-19 restrictions.
"I protect myself against infection and mild disease, and … I take the booster because I reduce the chances I get infected and pass it on to the people around me," Kilpatrick said of the boosters. "And both of those are really good reasons to take a booster shot."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed the FDA's lead hours later on Friday, as its advisory panel unanimously recommended making all adults eligible for booster shots. The panel used stronger language for adults over 50, outright recommending the shots for that age group. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky could sign off on both decisions as soon as Friday.
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