US to approve 2nd vax booster amid mixed pandemic scenario

The US Food and Drug Administration is poised to authorize a second COVID-19 vaccine booster for anyone 50 and older amid concerns that a new Omicron subvariant could hit the United States.

The authorizations for second Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna boosters could be announced as soon as next Tuesday, according to US media reports.

On Saturday, Hawaii became the last US state to remove the indoor masking requirement as the Omicron surge recedes. The state also suspended its Safe Travels program, allowing travelers from the continental United States to enter without submitting proof of vaccination or the results of an approved COVID-19 test.

Idaho went a step further as its State Legislature passed a bill last week to prohibit businesses from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination for employment or service and prevent unvaccinated individuals from being “treated differently or discriminated against.”

According to the bill, the decision to receive a vaccine is “a very personal and individual decision” and one that public or private entities should not mandate. The bill was supported by Republican legislators and landed on Governor Brad Little’s desk this week. Little, also a Republican, has not stated whether he will veto or sign it.

While COVID-19 restrictions / are being lifted or eased in most parts of the country, health officials in Washington are cautiously monitoring the behavior of Omicron BA.2 sub-variant, the more contagious cousin of the Omicron variant that has spread through Europe and other parts of the world, which now represents about 30 percent of new infections in the Mid-Atlantic region that includes the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. CNA