FDA approves fall boosters

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week approved COVID-19 booster shots from Pfizer and Moderna targeting the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. This is the first time the companies have updated the shots to account for adaptations in the virus since the shots received approval in 2020. The Biden Administration plans a fall booster campaign, but only about half of people who received the first two shots got the initial booster dose. Meanwhile, a Brookings Institution report released last week found long COVID is keeping as many as four million Americans out of work, with serious repercussions for the U.S. economy and the productivity of working people. (FDA news release, 8/31/22)