In an effort to "simplify" the vaccination process with respect to COVID-19 in the US, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) independent advisory committee voted Thursday to swap out Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines — which were developed in 2020 — with the new bivalent omicron injections..This could mean offering a single booster dose to the public each year. The proposal was unanimously backed by the committee’s 21 members..As of now, people receiving COVID-19 vaccines for the first time receive an injection aimed at the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, while booster doses target both the original virus and the BA.4/BA.5 omicron variants..Under the new plan, all vaccines will be intended to target the same variants going forward..“This is absolutely the right thing to do for the program. It will make things simpler,” said Dr. Melinda Wharton, a senior official at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases..The plan says healthy adults would receive one vaccine in the fall while the elderly, children not yet vaccinated, and those with poor health would receive two doses..Jeanette Yen Lee, a biostatician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences asked if there is any reason to believe that spreading out doses may reduce the risk of stroke..“I don’t think the evidence is sufficient to conclude there’s an association there,” responded Tom Shimabukuro, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Immunization Safety Office, further noting talk of spacing out the vaccines "may be a bit premature at this time.".If adopted, the change will axe the use of the original vaccines that were developed for the early COVID-19 strain, however any changes in vaccine policy must first be authorized by the FDA commissioner and requires the meeting of a second advisory panel approved by the CDC's director..Yale epidemiologist Dr. Harvey Risch notes variants change every few months, therefore by the time a booster is ready, such as with omicron substrains, the substrains have — by his analysis — already disappeared from circulation.."It doesn't provide a service to keep vaccinating people over and over," he said..WATCH: Pfizer official claims company exploring mutating COVID to sell more vaccines
