The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized this Tuesday the second dose of the updated vaccine against the omicron variant of COVID-19 for people older than 65 years or with a depressed immune system, to reinforce the protection of the most vulnerable population after the end last week of the declaration of a national emergency for the coronavirus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet on Wednesday to decide when the vaccination campaign will begin, according to The Washington Post.
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This second dose is for people whose age or health problems put them at risk of serious health problems if they become infected.
Many of them were immunized in the fall with updated vaccines to combat the omicron variant, but specialists recommend a new dose because studies have shown that protection declines over the months.
Those over 65 years of age may receive a second dose of the updated versions against COVID-19 developed by the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna if at least four months have passed since the previous dose, the FDA explained in a statement.
Most immunosuppressed people will also be able to receive other doses at least two months after the last one.
The FDA also authorized the use of the bivalent formula (the one designed against the original strains of the disease and the updated one against omicron) in all coronavirus vaccines, not just booster ones.
That means that people who have not yet been vaccinated will directly receive the updated vaccines.
