According to a U.S. health regulator, asking people to get COVID-19 boosters frequently wasn't sustainable because of vaccine fatigue, and authorities needed to develop a long-term strategy for protection against the evolving virus.
Dr. Peter Marks, who heads the FDA's vaccines division, said that last week's authorization of a second booster dose was a stopgap.
Amid a surge in cases, some countries are handing out second booster shots. In Israel, early data suggest a fourth vaccine dose can increase antibodies against Covid-19, but not enough to prevent infections from omicron.
"It's going to be hard to generate all the data we want in short order when a new variant emerges," said Dr. Ofer Levy, one of the advisers and director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children's Hospital.
Several experts also said a future COVID-19 vaccine should probably target more than one strain of the virus. A version of omicron known as BA.2 now accounts for more than half the cases in the U.S.
Vaccine makers are currently testing such shots, with initial results possible in the coming weeks. U.S. health officials aren't sure yet that they will be needed.
If health officials decide that a variant-specific vaccine is needed for a fall booster campaign, trials would need to start by early May to ensure that enough doses would be available, said Robert Johnson, director of medical countermeasure programs at the BARDA.
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