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People in New York are waiting for their corona vaccination (archive image)
Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
In the USA, the FDA has announced new rules for dealing with the coronavirus.
On the one hand, it issued approvals for booster vaccinations from the manufacturers Moderna and Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday.
On the other hand, it allowed vaccines to be mixed so that two or more injections can come from different manufacturers in the future.
This procedure, which is known as “mix and match” in the USA, is already practiced in other countries such as Germany.
This should continue to "proactively fight the Covid-19 pandemic," said FDA Executive Director Janet Woodcock.
Vaccinations offer the "safest and most effective" protection against illness and a serious or even fatal course.
After approval by the FDA, the CDC health authority must now publish appropriate vaccination recommendations.
This is considered a formality.
Who can get the booster vaccinations
The booster vaccinations from Moderna can now be given to all people over 65 years of age as well as to all adults with an increased risk of the disease.
The second injection must have been at least six months ago.
Johnson & Johnson vaccines can be injected again two months after vaccination for people aged 18 and over.
Booster vaccinations with the agent from Biontech / Pfizer have already been officially approved and started in the USA.
Around 170 million people in the USA have so far been vaccinated with the means from Biontech / Pfizer or Moderna, around 15 million with those from Johnson & Johnson.
The question of a booster vaccination is fundamentally controversial.
Proponents argue that an additional vaccine dose increases protection against infection with the coronavirus, especially given the spread of the delta variant and declining immunity over time.
Opponents of a booster vaccination, on the other hand, say that two doses of the vaccine would already offer sufficient protection, especially against serious and fatal courses of the disease.
They believe that the focus should be on vaccinating people who have not been vaccinated - in the US, but also in developing countries where there is a shortage of vaccines.
The US government is also preparing a large-scale vaccination campaign for children between the ages of five and eleven.
The White House said Wednesday that the first vaccinations for children in this age group could be in the days following a final recommendation by the CDC.
That is expected for the beginning of November.
Vaccinations for the estimated 28 million children between the ages of five and eleven are to be administered in pediatric practices, children's hospitals, pharmacies and schools.
At the beginning of November, Biontech and Pfizer submitted an application for emergency approval of their corona vaccines for this age group.
The vaccine is approved from the age of twelve.
aar / dpa / AFP