An employee poses with a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination health center.
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An employee poses with a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination health center.
Pool / Getty Images
Pfizer and BioNTech are planning to ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize a second COVID-19 booster shot for people 65 and older.
According to two people familiar with the situation, the companies plan to apply for an emergency license for this supplement booster for older adults to increase protection against the omicron variant.
Pfizer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If authorized, a second booster shot would increase the Pfizer vaccination schedule to four doses in this age group.
Evidence has been shown that protection from three shots fades over time, especially for the omicron variant that is better able to evade the immune system than earlier versions of the coronavirus. .
Vaccines still provide protection for most people from getting sick enough to require hospitalization or death.
Some experts still doubt that another booster dose is still needed and question the effectiveness of another shot. Others say it is important to promote the most vulnerable.
This development was first reported by Articles washington.
