Moderna Asks FDA to Authorize Fourth Coronavirus Booster

The pharmaceutical giant Moderna has requested the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize a fourth coronavirus booster shot.

As Breitbart News reported earlier this week, Pfizer asked the FDA to approve the fourth shot for seniors only, but Moderna took it a step further by asking that the booster shot be approved for all adults, according to the Associated Press.

In a press release, the company said this approval would “provide flexibility” to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and medical providers to determine the “appropriate use” of a second booster, “including for those at higher risk of COVID-19 due to age or comorbidities.”

Moderna added that it’s request was based on “recently published data generated in the United States and Israel following the emergence of Omicron.”

Earlier this week, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that a fourth coronavirus booster shot will be necessary for most people.

“The protection that you are getting from the third, it is good enough, actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths,” he said on CBS. “It’s not that good against infections, but doesn’t last very long. But we are just submitting those data to the FDA and then we will see what the experts also will say outside Pfizer.”

Bourla said that it was important to stay ahead of the virus due to the many variants that will be coming in the future, citing omicron.

Biotech company Moderna began dosing participants Monday in phase three of the clinical trial for its coronavirus vaccine candidate. https://t.co/00CKymlijq

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 27, 2020

“First of all, we try very diligently to stay ahead of the virus because, as you said, many variants are coming and Omicron was the first one that was able to evade in a skillful way, the immune protection that we’re giving,” he said.

Both Pfizer and Moderna made their pitch as recent polls show that Americans have grown less concerned about the coronavirus, which originated in China.

“Taking into consideration both your risk of contracting it and the seriousness of the illness, how worried are you personally about experiencing COVID-19?” a poll from The Economist/YouGov asked respondents this week.

“A majority, 56 percent, indicated that they are generally not worried, and of those, 25 percent are ‘not worried at all,'” noted Breitbart News. “On the other side, 44 percent expressed concern, but of those, just 15 percent identified themselves as ‘very worried.'”

“Notably, those who are fully vaccinated are still more worried about experiencing the virus than those who are not, 50 percent compared to 31 percent,” the report added.