FDA Approves COVID Booster Shots for All Americans Ages 18 and Up

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for all Americans ages 18 and up.

In a press release issued Friday, the organization announced that they have authorized use of Pfizer and Moderna’s booster shots for all adult Americans to prevent spread of the virus.

Previously, only those who received the Johnson & Johnson shot were eligible for a booster shot, as well as those ages 65 and up and individuals at high risk of contracting COVID-19 due to either preexisting conditions or their profession.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to make a final decision later Friday, and if they agree with the FDA, all adult Americans could begin getting boosters immediately.

In a statement from Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, “The FDA has determined that the currently available data support expanding the eligibility of a single booster dose of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to individuals 18 years of age and older.”

He continued, “Streamlining the eligibility criteria and making booster doses available to all individuals 18 years of age and older will also help to eliminate confusion about who may receive a booster dose and ensure booster doses are available to all who may need one.”

Just last month, the FDA authorized booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines — months after they approved the Pfizer booster in September.

According to the New York Times on Thursday, COVID-19 cases are back up, averaging to about 85,000 a day.

Monday night on CNBC, Dr. Anthony Fauci — the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the president — urged citizens to get their boosters.