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Moderna Booster Update – December 2022

Moderna Booster Update – There are only a few handfuls of companies that are making vaccines for coronavirus. Don’t worry. We are not going to discuss the effectiveness of these vaccines, but we will only talk about the latest Moderna booster update.

There are only a few handfuls of companies in the world that are making these vaccines. In the United States, the government does not charge anything, forgetting the website nation of COVID-19 as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is doing everything in partnership with several pharmaceutical chains.

Currently, the country is divided among several groups that have different opinions regarding vaccination. First, there is a group that is completely against the vaccination for COVID-19, the second group has received the initial course of the vaccine, but they are skeptical of the booster dose.

In that mess, several coronavirus vaccine manufacturers, including Moderna and Pfizer, are dropping bombs on the second booster dose of the novel coronavirus vaccine.

Latest Moderna Booster Update

Last month, one of the coronavirus vaccine manufacturers, Moderna, asked the Food and Drug Administration of the United States to authorize the fourth shot of its COVID-19 vaccine as a second booster dose for all adults in the states.

First of all, people were very skeptical about the speed and not enough data on these vaccines for coronavirus. After that, these companies asked everyone to get a booster dose of the same vaccine to improve their immunity which raised many questions regarding the effectiveness of these vaccines.

Now, these companies are asking for a second booster dose, which is very hard to digest for a huge number of people in the United States and around the world. 

All the people who were very skeptical regarding the effectiveness of the novel coronavirus vaccine are raising questions once again. Any logical mind will ask similar questions.  

Is the coronavirus vaccine effective? If yes, then why are we getting booster shots again and again? If a person decides to get the full course of the COVID-19 vaccine nationwide, it might take one person to complete 10 months or more.

A similar request was made by Pfizer in mid-March 2022 when they asked the Food and Drug Administration of the United States to approve a second booster dose for all people above the age of 65.

As for the statement released by Pfizer, they asked the FDA to approve a second booster dose for the high-risk of serious illness and death category. We have analyzed the results of several studies conducted in Israel.

Moderna Booster Update
Moderna Booster Update

In those studies, it has been proven that people are 75% less likely to get a serious infection of novel coronavirus after two booster doses as compared to one booster dose.

In their request, the company also added the data of those studies, and the initial data is very promising. Till now Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend everyone above 12 receive a booster dose of their vaccine after five months of the initial course of the vaccine.

But, Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration of the United States to give them flexibility by approving every adult in the country to be eligible for the second booster dose.

Stance of Government

Now, let’s take a look at the stance of the government on the second booster dose and the latest Moderna booster update. 

For a very long time, United States health officials were laying the groundwork to deliver additional booster doses to several categories where people are more vulnerable to serious symptoms and death from novel coronavirus.

As we all know, the White House has been requesting Congress to approve more funding for the federal government to ensure the safety of people by either providing additional booster shots or variant-specific immunizations.

Fast forward to the first week of April 2022, the federal government, including the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, announced that they had given the nod for additional or second posted ones of novel coronavirus to every person who is age above 50.

Several health experts were expecting disapproval as many vaccine manufacturers, including Moderna and Pfizer, have been seeking approval for a second booster dose for a long time.

First of all, Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration, including the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, to approve a second booster dose of the novel list for every person who is above the age of 65 and those who are at high risk or immunocompromised.

After that, Moderna asked for the same approval but with a broader age group. Moderna asked the authorities to approve every adult in the United States to be eligible for a second booster dose of the novel coronavirus vaccine.

Eligibility Criteria For Moderna Booster Dose

Who should get one booster:

Adults 18 years and older

Who can get a second booster:

Adults 50 years and older

When to get your booster:

At least 5 months after completing your primary COVID-19 vaccination series

If eligible for a second booster, at least 4 months after your first booster

Which booster can you get:

For the first booster, an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) is preferred in most* situations

The second booster must be an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine

Source – cdc.gov

Who should not get a Moderna Booster Dose

As part of the guidelines issued by the Centres for Disease Control and prevention, all the previous guidelines for the use of vaccination are going to be the same for the latest second booster dose of novel coronavirus.

It means there are a few people who should not get vaccinated. If you fall under any of these categories, then kindly do not get vaccinated unless you have already talked to your doctor regarding the same.

  • First of all, people who have a severe allergic reaction to any of the ingredients included in the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
  • We have attached the list of ingredients down below. Kindly check it once before you make any decision regarding the vaccination.
  • Apart from that, if you get an allergic reaction after getting the first dose of vaccination, then you should not get a second dose or a second booster dose.

What are the ingredients of the Moderna COVID Vaccine?

You check the below-given list to find all the ingredients of the Moderna COVID vaccine. 

  • Nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding the viral spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2
  • PEG2000-DMG: 1,2-dimyristoyl-rac-glycerol, methoxy polyethylene glycol
  • 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine
  • BotaniChol® (non-animal origin cholesterol)
  • SM-102: heptadecane-9-yl 8-((2-hydroxyethyl) (6-oxo-6-(undecyloxy) hexyl) amino) octanoate
  • Sodium acetate
  • Sucrose (basic table sugar)
  • Tromethamine
  • Tromethamine hydrochloride
  • Acetic acid (the main ingredient in white household vinegar)

Apart from the main ingredients, we have also included them in the list of ingredients that are not part of the vaccine. We have included these two to clear out all the rumors regarding the vaccines.

  • Moderna has not added any kind of preservatives like thimerosal or mercury or any other preservatives.
  • Moderna has not added any kind of antibiotics like sulfonamide or any other antibiotics.
  • There are no medicines or therapeutics like ivermectin or any other medications.
  • Tissues like aborted fetal cells, gelatin, or any materials from any animal are also not part of the vaccine.
  • The company has not added any kind of food proteins like eggs or egg products, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, nut products, or any nut byproducts (COVID-19 vaccines are not manufactured in facilities that produce food products).
  • Metals like iron, nickel, cobalt, titanium, rare earth alloys, or any manufactured products like microelectronics, electrodes, carbon nanotubes or other nanostructures, or nanowire semiconductors are also not part of the vaccine.
  • Moderna has not added any kind of latex to the vaccine. Apart from that, vial stoppers used to hold the vaccine also do not contain latex.

Takeaways

There are only a few handfuls of coronavirus vaccine manufacturers, and they are driving the whole corona vaccine campaign in the world. Similarly, in the United States, currently, only two manufacturers are working actively.

One of them is Moderna. The company has recently asked the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Food and Drug Administration to approve a second booster dose vaccine for every person above the age of 18 in the United States.

Even though the authority approved a second booster dose of a novel coronavirus vaccine, it is currently available for ages 50 and above. 

As for the latest Moderna booster update, every person in the United States of America above the age of 50 is eligible to get a second booster dose of a novel coronavirus vaccine. Just like before, it is also going to be completely free. 

Did Moderna change any of the ingredients in the vaccine after changing the name of its vaccine?

No, the company did not change any of the ingredients in their vaccine after changing the name for the same. As per the latest rules of the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, once the vaccines are approved by the administration, companies can market the vaccine under brand names. Moderna chose the brand name Spikevax. Currently, do not worry about the effectiveness or ingredients of the vaccine, as the company has just changed the name, not the formula.

What is the current status of a booster dose in senior citizens?

As per the latest data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 66% of Americans 65 and older have received one booster dose. The department is expecting to reach the number by 80% in the upcoming months.

Do we have to pay for the second booster dose of the novel coronavirus vaccine?

Currently, the second booster dose of a novel coronavirus in the United States is recommended to everyone aged above 50 who has already received the initial doses and the first booster dose at least four months ago. After that announcement, Medicare and Medicaid have also announced that they are going to cover a second Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster dose at no additional cost to all eligible.