Expanding eligibility for a fourth vaccine dose to younger adults would require regulatory approval. More discussions with officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected in the coming days, according to people familiar with the situation. The administration decided in March to offer second booster doses to everyone 50 and older, along with some younger people who are immunocompromised. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, a leading infectious disease expert and White House chief medical adviser, has strongly advocated expanding eligibility to all younger adults. Two federal officials said Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the White House pandemic response coordinator, also favors that approach. The discussions were reported earlier by the Washington Post. In an interview Monday, Dr. Fauci said there is not enough clinical data to strongly recommend that people under 50 get a second booster shot. But he said many in that age group had their last vaccination in November or December, so their protection against the virus is waning. While it’s up to the FDA and CDC to decide, Dr. Fauci said, “I think there should be flexibility and tolerance in allowing at least” a second booster for younger adults. Other federal officials seem more skeptical and anxious to see more evidence to justify the decision. Some have argued that the administration should try harder to convince Americans to accept the initial round of Covid vaccines, rather than seeking to reduce benefits to those who are already at least somewhat protected. There are also concerns that by promoting second boosters for all adults now, the administration could weaken its case for reformulated booster shots in the fall, when it hopes to offer boosters that better fight the latest versions of the virus. The FDA recently proposed redesigning the vaccines to better combat the rapidly spreading Omicron variants of BA.4 and BA.5. The June 30 decision came just two days after the agency’s panel of independent experts voted overwhelmingly in favor of regulators pursuing more advanced vaccines tailored to Omicron’s formulations, an acknowledgment that current vaccines may no longer be as protective by possible fall or Winter wave is coming. The two most recent Omicron subvariants have increased hospitalization and death rates, although both remain much lower than at the height of the winter Omicron wave. The same subvariants have sent admissions to hospitals in Britain, France, Portugal, Belgium and Israel. The White House has scheduled a briefing for Tuesday on the state of the pandemic and the threats posed by the latest Omicron subvariants.
