We are getting a better timeline on boosters for COVID-19 vaccines and the approval of vaccines for children.
Here’s a look at the timeline the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released Friday.
On Oct. 14, the FDA’s advisory committee will meet to discuss and potentially recommend approval of booster shots for people who received Moderna’s vaccine.
Then, the next day, that committee will meet to potentially recommend approval of boosters for those who received Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Also, that day, the committee will discuss potentially mixing and matching vaccine boosters — that is, getting a booster that’s different from your original vaccine.
Then, about a week and a half later, on Oct. 26, the FDA has scheduled a meeting to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
Pfizer has not yet applied for that emergency use authorization, but the FDA expects it will soon, so the meeting has been scheduled.
Meanwhile, Merck announced the first oral medicine that shows promise in fighting COVID-19.
The White House COVID-19 Response Team said Merck will be submitting its data to the FDA soon to get the drug approved.
“The data are impressive. There was a 50% diminution of importance, is that, in the placebo group, there were eight deaths, and, in the treatment group, there were no deaths. That’s also very important and very good news,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.”
Digging a little deeper into the data: Fauci mentioned 775 people with mild or moderate COVID-19 were involved. Half got the medicine, and the other half got a placebo.
Of those given the pill, 28 were hospitalized and none died. Of those who received the placebo, 45 were hospitalized and eight died.
If approved, the federal government has already contracted to purchase 1.7 million doses of this new antiviral drug.