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FDA's COVID Vaccine Policy Shake-Up: "Rationality" Finally Prevails, Says Expert

James Thomas•May 22, 2025
A split image: on one side, a blurred image of a large, diverse crowd representing 'vaccinate all'; on the other, a focused image of a doctor carefully examining an older patient, representing 'targeted, evidence-based care'. A subtle tagline across the bottom could read: "FDA Policy: Precision Over Panacea."
  • FDA drastically narrows COVID booster recommendations, focusing on high-risk individuals.
  • Vaccine benefit for healthy adults now deemed "uncertain," requiring rigorous new trials.
  • Dr. Anil Diwan of NanoViricides champions the change as "long overdue" for restoring public trust.

In a seismic shift, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has overhauled its COVID-19 vaccine policy, a move hailed as "long overdue" by Dr. Anil Diwan, President of NanoViricides, Inc. The new directive pivots away from broad vaccination campaigns, now targeting booster shots primarily to adults over 65 and individuals over 6 months with co-morbidities placing them at high risk for severe COVID-191, 2.

For healthy adults, the FDA now acknowledges the benefit of repeat vaccinations is "uncertain." Consequently, any vaccine seeking approval for this demographic must undergo randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials to prove effectiveness—a stark contrast to previous policies that greenlit vaccines for nearly everyone over six months old2. This past approach, despite CDC recommendations for universal vaccination, saw uptake rates languish around a mere 25%2.

"Evidence-based decision making about vaccine boosters policy for COVID is a welcome change over broadcast vaccine recommendation for all," declared Dr. Diwan. He lauded the FDA's new stance as a "rational and scientific, non-dogmatic approach [that] should go a long way towards restoring public trust in institutions that affect peoples' lives." This policy revision brings the U.S. more in line with many other developed nations1.

While millions remain eligible for boosters due to broad co-morbidity definitions, Dr. Diwan envisions a future where advanced treatments lessen vaccine dependency. "We believe that when a highly effective antiviral drug against COVID becomes available, the need for vaccination will decrease substantially," he stated, hinting at NanoViricides' own broad-spectrum antiviral, NV-387, as a potential game-changer for seasonal viral threats2.

References

  1. www.prevention.com
  2. www.biospace.com
  3. www.nanoviricides.com
  4. www.sec.gov

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