Amid reports of waning COVID-19 immunity, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to officially approve a third dose of messengerRNA vaccines for the general public. Moderna and Pfizer are mRNA vaccines.
The FDA has already approved a third COVID-19 vaccine dose for those who have compromised immune systems, as part of their primary vaccine series. That third vaccine is not considered a booster.
However, Mayo Clinic experts say the pending FDA approval for a booster vaccine does not mean the general public should go out and get a third dose of vaccine, whenever they think they need it. The timing for a booster is important and designed to give extended immunity protection. Sooner is not necessarily better and these experts have other concerns.
“There are some things we don’t know about that,” says Dr. Swift. “One is that they could develop more side effects and are at more risk of adverse reactions. We don’t think so, but we would have to actually study that or follow the population for a long time to find out.”
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Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date.
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