All adults can now get a Pfizer or Moderna COVID booster shot. What to know
Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 booster shots have been authorized for all U.S. adults to ensure “continued protection” against the disease as evidence shows immunity may wane over time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday, Nov. 19.
The FDA’s amendment to the emergency use authorizations for both vaccines means any adult can receive a booster shot at least six months after they received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or at least two months after they received their single dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee voted on Friday, Nov. 19, in support of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 boosters for all adults. The agency’s voting language did not include people who received the J&J vaccine because federal health officials already gave the group the green light for boosters in October.
The CDC group’s recommendations say anyone ages 18 and older “may” receive a booster shot “based on individual benefit and risk,” while anyone ages 50 and older “should” get a booster dose without the need to examine individual benefit and risk.
The agency’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, endorsed the recommendations several hours after the advisory group’s meeting on Nov. 19, expanding booster eligibility for millions of adults. Walensky’s approval was the last step needed before all adults could officially get a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot.
“The FDA has determined that the currently available data support expanding the eligibility of a single booster dose of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to individuals 18 years of age and older,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. “Streamlining the eligibility criteria and making booster doses available to all individuals 18 years of age and older will also help to eliminate confusion about who may receive a booster dose and ensure booster doses are available to all who may need one.”
As of Nov. 19, you are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after your second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and two weeks after your single dose of the J&J shot. While you do not need a booster dose to be considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Nov. 19, federal health officials have hinted they may change the definition of “fully vaccinated” as boosters become more widely available.
Who was already eligible for additional shots?
Some states, however,had already opened eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots for all adults, including California, Colorado, New York, Kentucky, West Virginia, Massachusetts and Kansas.
Adults ages 65 and older, as well those 18 and older who live in long-term care facilities, who have medical conditions or who work or live in “high-risk settings” that increase their risks of contracting COVID-19 are already eligible for COVID-19 booster shots.
Some people with weakened immune systems can also receive a fourth COVID-19 shot to boost protection against the disease.
Adults who are moderately to severely immunocompromised and who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines can get a fourth “booster” shot of the Pfizer, Moderna or J&J vaccines at least six months after getting their third dose. Adults with weakened immune systems who initially received a single dose of the J&J vaccine can get a single booster shot of the J&J, Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least two months after getting their first dose.
The CDC emphasizes people who got the J&J vaccine should not receive more than two COVID-19 vaccine doses in total.
COVID-19 vaccine protection may wane over time
Several studies have shown protection from the initial COVID-19 vaccines may wane over time.
For example, a study published in October of more than 3 million people found the Pfizer vaccine’s effectiveness against coronavirus infection dropped from 88% during the first month after complete vaccination to 47% after five months. A similar decline was found among delta variant infections.
Yet, as is the case with all available COVID-19 vaccines, protection against severe illness remains strong.
The Pfizer vaccine was 93% effective against hospitalizations caused by the delta variant for all ages up to six months after complete vaccination, according to the study.
“After you are vaccinated, there is a burst of protection. Over time, there is the potential for immunity to wane — however, it is important to remember that you are still protected,” Eric Ascher, a family medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, told Healthline. “You have many different cells in your body that are still activated long after vaccination that allow you to be protected against severe virus.”
The most commonly reported side effects following booster shot vaccination were arm pain, fatigue, headache, muscle pain and chills, the FDA said. Swollen lymph nodes in the armpit are also more common following a booster dose than after the first series of shots.
The FDA did not hold a meeting of its vaccine advisory group to discuss expanding booster shot eligibility — as it usually does — because the group had just met to determine if the benefits of booster shots for certain high risk groups outweighed the risks.
“After review of both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s [emergency use authorization] requests, the FDA concluded that the requests do not raise questions that would benefit from additional discussion by committee members,” the FDA said in the statement.
More than 32.5 million people in the U.S. have received a COVID-19 booster shot as of Nov. 18, a CDC tracker shows.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 8:06 AM with the headline "All adults can now get a Pfizer or Moderna COVID booster shot. What to know."
