White House: Biden will receive second booster if doctor recommends it

White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said on Tuesday that President Biden would receive a second booster if his doctor recommended it after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an additional booster for people aged 50 years and older.

“I can speak to the president who will make this decision in consultation with his doctor. Obviously if his doctor recommends that he receive a fourth booster, then he would, but he’ll make that decision in consultation with his doctor,” Bedingfield answered in response to whether the president and vice president would be receiving a fourth shot.

On Tuesday, the FDA said that Americans at least 50 years old could receive a fourth shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at least four months following their first booster shot. 

Following the FDA’s green light on the matter, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that anyone aged 50 years and older could now be able receive a second shot but stopped shy of offering a recommendation. 

Biden, who is 79 years old, has received both vaccine doses and a booster shot.

The development comes as the United States’s caseload has flatlined and masking requirements have been dropped in most states. Health officials are monitoring omicron subvariant BA.2, which the CDC says is the dominant strain in the United States.

The subvariant is believed to be more contagious than the original omicron variant, but it is not clear how much of an increase in COVID-19 cases BA.2 could contribute to.