Briefing documents for the upcoming advisory committee tout potential ‘indirect’ benefits and argue that lower dose should address myocarditis concerns.

Despite administering a total of 2.2 billion COVID-19 shots, China as the first country to experience the coronavirus outbreak has yet to open its borders, while more effective mRNA vaccines are still nowhere to be found amid apparent delays for the licensed-in lead candidate.

ACIP pushes back on proposed policy recommendation that the same product used for the primary regimen should be used for the booster, saying risk/benefit and other considerations necessitate more flexibility afforded by 'mix and match' approach.

The foundation is donating to help supply Merck/Ridgeback’s antiviral to low-income nations; also Pfizer got one step closer to full approval for booster shots of Comirnaty, while the FDA authorized Moderna and J&J boosters, and Daiichi Sankyo made progress on its own mRNA vaccine candidate. Shionogi's once-daily oral antiviral is also moving forward.