Pfizer and Moderna push for 4th COVID shot, but their target groups differ

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two doses and a booster are already recommended for Americans wanting to get vaccinated against coronavirus.

But it’s not stopping there. Both Pfizer and Moderna want a second booster, which translates into 4 doses of an mRNA vaccine series. 

However, the pharmaceutical firms have taken different approaches.

Pfizer is asking FDA emergency approval for high-risk adults over 65. Moderna, however, is pushing for all adults ages 18 and over to be eligible for the fourth jab. 

News 8 spoke with Dr. Christopher Doehring, vice president of medical affairs at Franciscan Health, who explains what motivated the different strategies. 

“Pfizer actually looked at this in terms of the experiences that they had in Israel because they have been offering that fourth dose [as part of an experiment] to those high risk populations,” Doering said. “So, that’s really what their request was based on.”

Doehring says Moderna’s request for a fourth shot, unlike Pfizer’s, is not based on clinical trial data. Rather, he says, it’s based on the recommendation of what company scientists have been observing in both the United States and around the world. 

Doehring goes on to say that a fourth shot may be necessary during this time, as studies show antibody protection against COVID wanes after the third shot with both vaccines. He says he is hopeful the coronavirus shot will become an annual injection just like the flu vaccine.