At a virtual meeting on April 6, 2022, the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) will meet to address the future of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses and the process for selecting them for use against specific viral strains.
The committee consists of independent experts, but they will be joined by representatives of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for this virtual meeting. Together, they will assist the FDA in forming a general framework to inform its regulatory decision-making on situations that might require updates to COVID-19 vaccine compositions to deal with specific variants and the timing and populations for COVID-19 vaccine booster doses.
“As we prepare for future needs to address COVID-19, prevention in the form of vaccines remains our best defense against the disease and any potentially severe consequences,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said. “Now is the time to discuss the need for future boosters as we aim to move forward safely, with COVID-19 becoming a virus like others such as influenza that we prepare for, protect against, and treat. Bringing together our panel of expert scientific external advisors in an open, transparent discussion about booster vaccination is an important step to gain insight, input, and expert advice as we begin to formulate the best regulatory strategy to address COVID-19 and virus variants going forward.”
Though advice for the future will be front and center at this meeting, no vote is planned, and the attendees will not address any specific product applications. Background materials will be provided to the public, and the meeting will be live-streamed through the FDA’s YouTube channel.