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The Food and Drug Administration may soon allow half-dose booster shots for the Moderna coronavirus vaccine, Bloomberg reports.
Anonymous sources told Bloomberg that the FDA had seen data suggesting that half a dose would be sufficient to increase protection among Moderna vaccine recipients.
- The initial two-dose regimen of Moderna consists of two doses of 100 micrograms. So the booster would be a dose of 50 micrograms.
- Pfizer, for comparison, has two doses of 30 micrograms to start the vaccination. The booster shot is a 30 microgram shot.
The half-dose decision could reduce the side effects of the injection, according to Bloomberg. And that would allow Moderna to distribute more doses around the world in the long run.
The Pfizer vaccine has already been cleared by the FDA for booster injections. People over the age of 65 or with underlying conditions can receive the booster now.
A study published in a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that higher doses of Moderna for the original two doses created more antibodies to fight COVID-19. Moderna patients had about 2,881 antibody units per milliliter on average, while Pfizer patients had an average of 1,108 units per milliliter in the study, as I wrote for the Deseret News.
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” last weekend that booster shots from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are coming soon.
- “The actual data that we’ll get (on) this third shot for the Moderna and the second shot for the J&J is literally a few weeks away,” he said. “We’re working on it right now to get the data to the FDA, so they can review it and make a decision about boosters for these people.”
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