An FDA advisory panel is expected to meet on Thursday to discuss Moderna's COVID-19 booster shot, and will go through the whole process against for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
It comes as a lot of vaccinated Americans are losing immunity from COVID-19 as time goes on. It also comes as we move to winter and the holiday season, where people will be gathering indoors.
The FDA said making these shots available in younger age groups is key to keeping community transmission under control.
"We do have waning protection over time," Dr. Justin Skrzynski, an internal medicine physician at Beaumont Health, said.
Over the summer, a lot of people ditched the masks, businesses relaxed COVID-19 protocols, and the Delta variant spread like wildfire.
All of these factors conspired together and now threaten immunity many Americans developed when they first got vaccinated.
"Giving a half dose of the vaccine as Moderna would be as a booster should be a very safe thing to do and the idea would be to increase that protection as we see it fade," Skrzynski said.
The FDA has only given the green light to Pfizer's booster shot, but they'll hear extensive presentations on why they should also approve Moderna's and J&J's.
If these roll out, they could help minimize poor outcomes from COVID-19 breakthrough cases.
"We are still seeing a good share of breakthrough cases but fortunately not at the hospital," Skrzynski added.
Data shows vaccines are preventing people from getting seriously ill.
The FDA panel is planning to hold public hearings after the meetings where people can make comments and express concerns.
Booster shots are currently only available to people 65 and older or those 18-64 with underlying health conditions or work in high-risk environments.
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