FDA Schedules Meeting On Additional COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots

U.S. regulators plan to consult a panel of expert advisers on April 6 on whether additional COVID-19 vaccine booster doses are necessary. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will convene for a virtual meeting “to discuss considerations for future COVID-19 vaccine booster doses and the process for selecting specific strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus for COVID-19 vaccines to address current and emerging variants,” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement. The committee is composed of outside experts. It advises the FDA on policies related to vaccines. The meeting won’t include a vote on specific recommendations, but members will be asked to weigh in on data about emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—and which populations, if any, should get a second vaccine booster dose. The date of the meeting was announced on March 21, shortly after Pfizer had asked the FDA to let health care …  » Read full article