Updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 Boosters Expected Within Days

Distribution of updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 boosters is expected to begin within days following the recommendation last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Specifically, the CDC recommended the updated Pfizer-BioNTech shots for individuals 12 years and older and the updated Moderna shots for people 18 years and older.

The recommendations follow the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voting 13-to-1 to green light the updated boosters. The lone no vote came from Pablo J. Sanchez, a professor of pediatrics at the Ohio State University, who voted no because of a lack of supporting data.

The two boosters are under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA. With these new EUAs in place, the agency has decided to no longer authorize the monovalent mRNA COVID-19 booster doses — that had been under EUA — for those 12 years and older.