The FDA is expected to authorize 2nd boosters for people 50 and up

The Biden administration wants people 50 and over to have the option of getting a booster shot.

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A second booster dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine could soon be available to anyone 50 years and older. The FDA is expected to approve the additional shots without having a meeting with its vaccine advisers.

Evidence shows that protection from three shots is fading and a fourth shot would help boost immunity back up. As BA.2 continues to spread in the U.S., concern is mounting that it could fuel another surge.

We have a large number of people who are at least four to six months past their third shot, according to Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute.

There is a high risk of hospitalization and death without protection against the omicron variant.

Others question the plan. The vaccines are doing a good job of protecting people. Critics say there is not enough evidence yet that another shot is needed and that it would provide better protection.

A senior fellow and editor at Kaiser Health News says that there is no definitive evidence that giving a second booster dose is the right way to go in older people.

She says data from Israel shows that an additional booster dose can reduce the risk of death for people over the age of 60. She points out that it is not known how long that extra protection will last.

Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease researcher at Emory University, told NPR that he doesn't think it hurts.

Administration officials say it is important to give people the option of a second booster. The plan to offer it to people younger than 60 was made to ensure that more vulnerable people, particularly people of color who are more likely to suffer other health problems that put them at risk, also have the option of an additional booster.

The administration should focus on getting people their primary doses and first boosters, according to infectious disease specialists.

The director of the Yale Institute for Global Health says that he is concerned that we are not investing in increasing the coverage of booster doses.

The FDA is not expected to make the 2nd booster a recommendation for everyone, but rather an option for those who want it.