The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized a second booster dose for people age 50 and older of the two most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines, citing data showing waning immunity and the risks posed by Omicron variants of the virus.

Reporting by Michael Erman in New Jersey and Manojna Maddipatla in Bangaluru, Additional reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; Editing by Bill Berkrot

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a second booster dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for older people and certain immunocompromised individuals.

The second booster may be given to people who are 50 and older or immunocompromised at least four months after they received the first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID vaccine. Immunocompromised people must be at least 12 to receive the 2nd Pfizer booster, and at least 18 to get the Moderna.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a second booster shot for adults 50 years of age and up for the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, and for specific immunocompromised people in certain ways.

The FDA stated: 

A second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered to individuals 50 years of age and older at least 4 months after receipt of a first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine.