A Moderna booster coronavirus dose
(Picture: PA Wire)Moderna is seeking emergency use authorisation from US regulators for its second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot.
The US biotech company said the request covers all adults over 18, including those at higher risk of the virus due to age or being immunosuppressed.
The decision for widespread use will be made by the Food and Drug Administration.
Moderna said its request for approval for all adults was made “to provide flexibility” to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health care providers to determine the “appropriate use” of a second booster dose of the mRNA vaccine.
It is broader than rival pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s request earlier in the week for the regulator to approve an additional booster shot for all seniors.
Pfizer submitted its request with data from Israel, which suggests older adults would benefit from a further shot.
It comes as US officials have been trying to deliver additional booster doses to firm up the protection against serious disease and death from Covid-19.
The White House has been sounding the alarm that it needs Congress to “urgently” approve more funding for the federal government to secure more doses of Covid-19 vaccines, either for additional booster shots or variant-specific immunisations.
US public health officials, including top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, have raised the prospect of a fourth shot, especially for older people and to prepare for the possibility of another surge in cases.
While infection rates are falling in the US and much of the world, infections are rising in China.
In the UK and Europe, there has been a reversal in the downward trend of Covid cases as economies have opened up and a second variant of Omicron, BA., circulates among populations.
