CDC Director: FDA in Discussions to Authorize Omicron-Specific Vaccine

New variant has been found in about 15 states, director says

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Washington in a file photograph. Greg Nash/Pool/Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) director confirmed on Dec. 5 that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is discussing how to streamline the authorization of an Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine.

During an interview with ABC News, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson have told the agency that “they can all do this fairly quickly within three months ... but then you have FDA approval.”