FDA advisers meet this week on the future of COVID-19 vaccines

FDA advisers¹ meet this week on the future of COVID-19 vaccines³

Transcript⁴

FDA advisers meet Wednesday on the future of COVID vaccines. A fall booster push may be in works. And data is expected this month on vaccine² efficacy in kids younger than five.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration meet this week to talk about the future of COVID boosters. Since many Americans haven't even gotten a first booster, the policymakers have to figure out how to persuade people to get another shot. The FDA also expects more data to roll in from vaccine trials in kids under the age of 6. But will it be convincing enough to win authorization⁵ and sway parents? NPR's Allison Aubrey is with us this morning. Hey, Allison.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE⁶: Good morning, Rachel.

MARTIN: Sounds like FDA advisers have a full plate.

AUBREY: That's right. There are just a lot of unanswered questions about where to go from here with vaccines. The agency has already given the green light for a second booster for people 50 and up. But when should they get it? And should they hold out for a variant⁷-specific booster, the type being tested now? Will everyone be encouraged to get a COVID shot every year, maybe every fall? Many scientists say we're headed in that direction. Josh Sharfstein is a former FDA official and public health professor at Johns Hopkins University. He says there are just a lot of questions.

JOSH SHARFSTEIN: I really think it's going to be increasingly important for there to be more information from the experts at FDA about how they're thinking of these key questions. And I think this advisory⁸ committee meeting is the right step.

AUBREY: The goal is to gain the trust of people, he says, and show that there is a long-term strategy.

MARTIN: So you mentioned this, Allison. People over the age of 50 can now get this second booster. But what is the best way for folks to think about that choice?

AUBREY: I think two key factors to consider are age and overall health. A person in their 50s who is healthy is at lower risk of serious illness than someone the same age who has a bunch of underlying⁹ conditions. Bottom line - risk increases kind of incrementally¹⁰ with age. Dr. Robert Wachter of the University of California at San Francisco says when he thought about his own decision, he told me the answer was clear.

ROBERT WACHTER: You know, I'm 64, pretty healthy, but the evidence is clear that six months out from my first booster, the effectiveness of that booster has waned¹¹ considerably¹². And now there's quite good evidence that another booster will decrease the probability I'll get infected and also decrease the probability that I'll die.

AUBREY: That's a lot of potential benefit, he says. But bottom line - the older the person, the stronger the case for another booster now.

MARTIN: OK. Well, let me ask this because millions of people in the U.S. have had recent COVID infections, myself included...

AUBREY: Are you positive now? You just got it?

MARTIN: I currently am positive. We're at the tail end, and I don't have symptoms anymore, but it sort of lingers in your body for a while.

AUBREY: So you're feeling OK?

MARTIN: I'm feeling fine. But the question really is, you know, if I'm eligible¹³ - I'm not over 50 yet, but when I become eligible for another booster, do I need to get it? Because aren't I supposed to have, like, this new immunity¹⁴ because I've had COVID?

AUBREY: Right. Well, a recent infection can certainly help boost immunity and protect you after you've been infected, at least in the short term, you know, not in the long term. So Dr. Wachter says - you know, his take is that it may make sense for people in this situation with having recent infections to hold off.

WACHTER: So if you've had three shots and you had an omicron infection sometime between December and now, I would say stick. I think you're probably in a similar immunologic state as if you got your second booster. So that group, I think it's reasonable to wait.

AUBREY: Now, no one knows what's ahead. I mean, right now, the BA.2 variant, which has been problematic in the U.K. and Europe, has led to a bit of an uptick here in the U.S. in about a dozen states or so over the last couple weeks, including in New York and Massachusetts. But big picture, nationwide - cases, hospitalizations and deaths all continue to decline.

MARTIN: Nevertheless, I mean, we celebrate this, but there's always some uncertainty¹⁵, right?

AUBREY: You know, the virus just likes to throw curveballs, so it's never certain. But the consensus¹⁶ among all the infectious disease experts I talk to is that a big surge is very unlikely now, simply because, as a nation, we've built up so much immunity through vaccines and through the big winter omicron wave. There is, however, a concern for next fall when outbreaks or a surge could be more likely as people move indoors. That's what we've seen the last two falls and winters. Again, this has some people wondering about the timing¹⁷ of a booster since the protection from a booster can be short lived. I talked to Dr. Yvonne Maldonado - she's a pediatrician and researcher at Stanford - about this timing conundrum¹⁸.

YVONNE MALDONADO: And the question is, do I get a booster soon? And, you know, by September, will I need another booster for the fall? Or should I wait as long as possible and get a booster that might help me through a potential fall surge? I do think that a second booster at some point could be useful for most people. I'm just not sure everyone needs one right this minute.

AUBREY: Eventually, she says, boosters may also be recommended for children. Right now, elementary school-aged kids are authorized¹⁹ for two shots, the 5-to-11-year-olds.

MARTIN: Indeed. But let's talk about the young ones because there's still all those parents who are like, when can I vaccinate²⁰ my baby and my toddler?

AUBREY: That's right. There is a lot expected to happen over the next several weeks. Moderna is expected to give the FDA data from its trial in kids under the age of 6 to evaluate. The company has indicated that the vaccine was about 38% effective at preventing infection in kids 2 to 6, about 44% in younger kids 6 months to 2 years. Now, this might not sound great, but at this point, preventing infection is not as important as preventing severe disease. And the company has said no severe cases of COVID were seen in these children. Now, there's some debate about whether this data is going to be good enough. So Dr. Maldonado says all eyes are on the FDA now.

MALDONADO: We don't have a perfect set of vaccines yet. Given the options that we have, I think FDA is going to say let's not make the perfect the enemy of the good. Do we have a safe vaccine? Absolutely.

AUBREY: And given vaccines have been very effective in preventing serious illness in older kids, there's momentum²¹ to get something approved for the younger ones. The FDA will also likely review data from Pfizer, which extended its trial to test a third dose in young children. The company has said it will have the third dose protection data this month.

MARTIN: NPR's Allison Aubrey. Thanks, Allison. We appreciate it.

AUBREY: Thank you, Rachel.

1 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

8 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 incrementally   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• Incrementally update the shared dimensions used in this cube. 增量更新此多维数据集中使用的共享维度。 来自互联网
• Grand goals are inspiring, but be sure to approach them incrementally. 辉煌的目标令人鼓舞，但一定要逐步实现。 来自互联网

11 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

13 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

14 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

15 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

16 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

17 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

18 conundrum   

n.谜语；难题

参考例句：

• Let me give you some history about a conundrum.让我给你们一些关于谜题的历史。
• Scientists had focused on two explanations to solve this conundrum.科学家已锁定两种解释来解开这个难题。

19 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

20 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

21 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。