Pfizer, Moderna seek FDA approval for new COVID-19 booster

Pfizer and Moderna this week submitted applications to the Food and Drug Administration to approve a version of their COVID-19 vaccines targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvarients. The shots, if approved, would be ready to ship in September, ahead of a fall booster campaign planned by the Biden-Harris Administration. Pfizer announced earlier this week that its COVID-19 vaccine was 73% effective against the disease in children under age 5. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this week approved Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents ages 12 through 17. A study published this week in the American Journal of Infection Control showed COVID-19 vaccines are safe in pregnancy. Another study published in AACN Advanced Critical Care showed patients critically ill with COVID-19 are at high risk for developing health care-associated pressure injuries, and preventing them requires nurses and other clinicians to be extra vigilant with assessments and protective interventions. (The Hill article, 8/23/22)