SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) — When Pfizer asked the F.D.A. to authorize a second booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, that request for was those 65 and older, but when Moderna made a similar request days later, it was for a second booster dose for those 18 and older.
UC Berkeley Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. John Swartzberg told KRON4, “It’s going to depend on how robust the data is from Pfizer and Moderna if they have good data in large enough numbers maybe we will have enough to make decisions.”
So far, Schwartzberg says the data on a second booster is a mixed bag, and doctors say that fourth jab may only be needed for older people.
Dr. Monica Gandhi of UC San Francisco said, “It is that patient population that has good cellular immunity but may need a higher level of antibodies to prevent severe disease and may not have as good cellular immunity as younger people.”
She stated, “This is the science, for now, the thing that would change the equation away from just looking at the age of the patient for a fourth shot is if we have another variant and it really drove up cases and it depends where the mutations in that variant are.”
But for now, doctors say three shots are doing the job for most, even if there are breakthrough infections.
“These vaccines are still protecting us against hospitalizations and death which is everybody’s major concern,” Dr. Swartzberg said.
It’s likely the FDA will take up the request at a meeting in April.
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