Pfizer PFE, -2.21% and BioNTech BNTX, -0.11% have formally completed an application asking the Food and Drug Administration to authorize their experimental bivalent COVID-19 booster in those who are 12 years old or older. The new shot equally targets the original strain of the virus and the BA.4 and BA.5 strains, the latter of which is now the dominant strain of SARS-CoV-2 in the U.S. The news comes as U.S. known cases of COVID are continuing to ease, although the true tally is likely higher given how many people are testing at home, where the data are not being collected. The daily average for new cases stood at 92,602 on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker, down 16% from two weeks ago to the lowest level seen since mid-May. The daily average for hospitalizations was down 8% at 39,963, while the daily average for deaths is down 5% to 459. Globally, the confirmed case tally rose above 596.8 million on Tuesday, according to data aggregated by Johns 2Hopkins, while the death toll is above 6.45 million with the U.S. leading the world with 93.6 million cases and 1,040,898 deaths.
