April 18, 2023
I am writing to alert you to a significant development concerning COVID-19 vaccines. Today, for the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended its emergency use authorizations for the Moderna and Pfizer bivalent mRNA vaccines to authorize individuals 65 years and older who previously received a single dose of bivalent vaccine to receive one additional dose at least four months after their initial bivalent dose. Here is a link to the official announcement: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-changes-simplify-use-bivalent-mrna-covid-19-vaccines.
This announcement is part of an effort by the FDA to encourage future vaccination by simplifying eligibility guidelines. The FDA said a 2nd dose for persons 65 and older is supported by data showing that immunity wanes in this population over time, but that an additional dose restores it.
In addition, the FDA said that persons who are immunocompromised can get another bivalent dose at least 2 months after their initial bivalent shot. However, for immunocompromised children 6 months through 4 years of age, eligibility for additional doses will depend on which vaccine was previously received.
As for unvaccinated adults, the FDA stated that a single dose of bivalent vaccine will suffice as initial vaccination, rather than two doses of the monovalent vaccines.The same goes for unvaccinated kids 5 years and up (with Pfizer's vaccine) or 6 years and up (for Moderna's).
Although the Covid-19 pandemic continues to decline throughout the United States, it certainly has not gone away. There were over 100,000 cases reported in the United States last week, 5,144 hospital admissions and 1,327 deaths. For the week in Alabama, there were 1,632 reported cases, 43 hospitalizations and 2 deaths. Both nationally and in Alabama, reported cases have dropped more than 20% in the last 14 days, and hospitalizations are down by 5-8% during the same time period. Alabama’s test positivity rate is only 4.3%, which is below the national average of 6.2%.
The Covid-19 virus continues to mutate, but thankfully the mutations have been sub-variants of the Omicron variant. One sub-variant first detected in Southern Australia - XBC.1.6 - is worth paying attention to because it involves a combination of the Omicron and Delta variants. So far, it has not been detected in the United States.
I continue to monitor Covid data, which is becoming more difficult to do as the national emergency comes to an end. Best wishes to you and yours in the months ahead.