Dr. Peter Marks, the top vaccine regulator for the Food and Drug Administration, said in an interview on Tuesday that while he could not discuss timing, his team was close to authorizing updated doses that would target the versions of the virus now circulating.
Even though those formulations have not been tested in humans, he said, the agency has “extremely good” data showing that the shots are safe and will be effective. “How confident am I?” he said. “I’m extremely confident.”…
Federal health officials say they are eager to offer the updated boosters as quickly as possible, pointing to a death toll that now averages about 450 Americans per day and could rise in the coming months as people spend more time indoors.
“We have really got to do better to protect the American public,” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, said in an interview on Tuesday. “We are in the middle of a BA.5 outbreak here, and we are nowhere near where we want to be.”
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